In Review: No Yelling

Posted on February 28, 2007 by Kevin G.

No Yelling: The 9 Secrets of Great Leaders

“What is your major malfunction?” Not exactly the words you would expect to hear from your boss (unless his last name is Patton, and he prefers pushups to coffee in the morning).

We all communicate in different ways to get what we want. Managers, CEOs and other leaders need to understand the necessary steps to take to get their team to work as a unit and get what they want. The US Marine Corps. manufactures leaders through effective training in the physical and mental realms. Former marine, Wally Adamchik, knows the methods to handle high stress situations, manage a team, and complete tasks that mirror the likeness of the business world.

In No Yelling: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business, Adamchik lets readers in on this classified information:

1. Integrity

The individuals that work with--not underneath--you need to trust and respect your efforts by demonstrating integrity. By building trust, maintaining consistency and establishing non-negotiable terms, your integrity as a leader will develop.

2. Technical Competence

Demonstrate the knowledge and ability to complete the menial, labor-intensive or specialized tasks your workers do for you. By offering a sincere effort to level with your team, they learn to accept and respect your role as a leader.

3. Set the Example

Delegating work to a team does not ensure its completion. Maintaining professional composure and being a role model for others communicates what a leader expects out of a team.

4. Self-Awareness

It is impossible to be conscious of the tasks and people around you if your personal standards of practice are not identified. Being self-aware allows leaders to assess unique situations, recognize effective methods of team members, and continually improve leadership style.

5. Take Care of People

A happy worker is a good worker. Recognize workers’ accomplishments, give sincere attention to concerns, and make a natural effort to connect on a personal level. What goes around comes around.

6. Make New Leaders

The leader will not be there forever, and the team must be able to uphold its responsibilities for the company. By developing a team of leaders culturally and personally, each member will take ownership and pride in their tasks as they become accountable for successful completion.

7. Commander’s Intent

When a team knows where it’s headed and why, it will be more willing to spearhead new initiatives and venture into uncharted territory.

8. Culture and Values

By creating a positive and productive working culture with an honest and comprehensive value system, a team will be able to identify and respect the foundations of their company.

9. Rehearsals and Critiques

Creating scenarios for your team to practice within allows for mistakes to be made. When these mistakes are critiqued in a clear and non-threatening, non-judgmental manner, your team will be conscious and motivated to minimize recurrence of the same error.

In Review

At the end of this book, these secrets may seem like common knowledge—but that’s a result of the clear examples and content that progresses naturally from one secret to the next.

These secrets not only identify the personal qualities a leader must have, but also address the practices necessary to foster a happy and productive team. Though you might occasionally want to shout “Drop and give me 20,” No Yelling makes it clear how good leadership is created for any team. As you were, soldier.

February 28, 2007 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, email service, email services | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Strike Against the Beast

Posted on February 15, 2007 by Kevin G.

We’ve all heard the story about the little guy scoring one for his team against an impossible opponent. Movies like The Mighty Ducks or Rocky might illustrate this in the most obvious way, but it is rare to find this in the online or technical world. A hacker might be offered a six-figure salary from a major corporation, but that is about it.

Copiepresse, a Belgium copyright protection group, recently won a court battle against Google. It seems unheard of, but Google can do wrong…for some. Google’s providing of news stories with headlines, article snippets, and related pictures initially got them in trouble with the Belgium group back in February 2006. Many of the articles were available only by paid subscriptions to the 18 French-language news journals.

Though Google has lost the battle, it certainly has not lost the war. Often describing court battles as, “business negotiation being done in a courtroom,” Google will continue to contest the verdict as it pushes conventional wisdom on contemporary business practice.

February 15, 2007 in bulk email marketing, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It's my Truthiness and I'll Stick to It

Posted on January 25, 2007 by Kevin G.

I always make it a top priority to stay on top of news developing throughout the day. Spending time at the New York Times and CNN web pages gives me a good portion of my world news, but I always try to keep myself well-rounded. I’m a little bit country and a little bit Rock’n Roll – but mostly rock.

So, another source I commonly utilize for my news intake is the always credible program, the Colbert Report, on Comedy Central. Ok, I may not use it directly as a news source, but how can you deny a show that counts the times Nancy Pelosi blinked during the president’s recent State of the Union address? A reason why I choose to stay out of politics all together.

Anyways, the show is great, but I was intrigued to see that the Colbert Report now utilizes a blog. It’s is always great to establish relationships in the blogosphere. So how about it Steven? I’ll comment on yours if you comment on mine. Let’s build synergy…for the people.

January 25, 2007 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, e newsletter, email marketing, email marketing solution, email services, ezine, newsletter, newsletter format, newsletter sample, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Waxing Grammar

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

Whether you run into the occasional grammar roadblock or are a full-fledged word junkie, I recommend Patricia T. O'Connor's blog at Grammarphobia.com. O'Connor is the author of the entertainingly comprehensive book Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English. Her daily blog answers questions from readers regarding grammar and etymology. The site also includes writing tips, grammar myths and links to other language resources.

My favorite blog of the week is today's entry on the origins of the phrase "waxing eloquent."

January 23, 2007 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Time is Right?

Posted on January 19, 2007 by David Borra.

An article on msnbc.com talks about Bob Barker’s retirement.

At this moment, he doesn’t have a successor. I'm sure CBS has thought about this for some time, but will they find someone to fill Mr. Barker’s shoes and still keep the same amount of interest and success in the show? Or will this be the end of the line for "The Price is Right"?

Since Bob Barker has hosted the show for 35 years it will be interesting to see if CBS just finds a replacement or if they are going to rebrand the show's image.

January 19, 2007 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What Can Brown (on white) do For You?

Posted on January 17, 2007 by Kevin G.

I came across an article about the new ad campaign for UPS. Originally harnessing the slogan “What can brown do for you,” the company is looking to express that mentality in a broader way.

Described as the company’s “most integrate communication campaign ever,” the campaign will involve multiple mediums including print, online and television commercials amongst others. The commercial I found below is slightly reminiscent of Apple commercials, if only they decided to use Zach Braff from Scrubs.

The commercial is kept simple and direct, which is refreshing. Bottom line, they aim to make complex shipping seem like a piece of cake. I am convinced, see for yourself.

January 17, 2007 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, e zine, email marketing, email marketing solution, email service, email tracking, ezine marketing, newsletter, newsletter format, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Apple does it again

Posted on January 12, 2007 by David Borra.

Apple has gone through many changes over the years , but what remains constant is its drive to push forward.

For instance, the new iPhone coming out in June features an MP3 player, camera and touchpad screens.

Also, Apple TV is a new gadget that allows viewers to download movies from their iTunes (on either a PC or Mac) and view them on a television. The iPhone and Apple TV make it apparent that Apple is strategically branching out into all forms of media.

January 12, 2007 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Power of Yes

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Jeff Sanchez.

New to BeTuitive Publishing? Although we may go beyond email marketing it is still one of our most valuable tools. Some of you out there may need a refresher or a starting point to know the ins and outs of email marketing. Dynamic Graphics magazine has an article in their most recent issue about "The Power of Yes: Secrets of Permission E-Mail Marketing." Permission is obviously a keyword, considering the CAN-SPAM act and the thin line that email can cross if it is unwanted. You be the judge...from design to reaching out to your customer or client in a more direct way...this article covers it. Explore it...then explore us!

Read up on "The Power" here.

January 12, 2007 in create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email service, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter format | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Big Business is Looking Green

Posted on January 09, 2007 by David Borra.

Businesses have started to take a different approach towards the environment. No longer are they looking at the environment as a hindrance towards their financial goals, but rather a means of achieving them.

Two businesses, run by Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, and William McDonough, founder of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, are investing in the environment and looking to pioneer they way big business handles its approach to the environment. Check out these articles below to find out more on how big business is looking green.

Making the Skies Green

Designing the Future

January 9, 2007 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

News Source Fit for a (Burger) King

Posted on January 08, 2007 by Vinnie Lacey.

My first experience with news snobbery appeared in high school. I distinctly remember a certain world history teacher--an ex-nun with a condescending flair for anything she deemed non-intellectual--criticizing my choice of Time magazine as a research paper source. McNews she called it. Ouch.

Times have, of course, changed (no pun intended). The landscape of our news sources--like all our information--has certainly undergone quite a transformation with the arrival of the web. Credibility? Eh. News worthy? We'll need a vastly underdressed celebrity for that.

It was with great trepidation (and yet hope) then, that I learned Time had revamped its website, which I discovered through a posting on Adrants. Time 2.0. The ex-nun would have probably called it 0.5--all things new being the most suspect and ripe for ridicule, of course.

My first impression was favorable. The site seems less like a poor advertisement for the magazine and more like a full scale news source. Features to check out are the news aggregator and blogs from some of the more insightful columnists. Extra points for ease of navigation and a crisp design. The best new feature, though, has to be the revamped archives. Time backlogged all of their old articles and covers, and the result is a wistful stroll across 90+ years of the weekly news magazine. All for free. Like it or not, Time is part of the collective American consciousness as much as apple pie and the Big Mac.

In fact, all was going healthy and well until I ran into the quote of the day. From Angelina Jolie. I frantically clicked away, only to end up caught in a photo journal of a day in the life of Barack Obama. Yikes! I navigated until I reached safer waters. And for just one second I felt the hot breath of a certain ex-nun on the back of my neck asking, "Is this how you spend your time, Mr. Lacey?"

But don't mind my Catholic guilt. Decide for yourself here.

January 8, 2007 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email tracking, ezine, ezine marketing, mass email, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Best commercials of 2006

Posted on December 28, 2006 by Kathryn Regina.

Once in a while a commercial comes along that you enjoy almost as much as, if not more than, the program you’re watching. Smart and creative, these are my picks for the top five commericals of 2006:

Microsoft redesigns the iPod packaging

Milky Way commercial

Carlton Draught: Flashbeer

Folgers: Happy Mornings

Dove: evolution

December 28, 2006 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

And the merry bells keep ringing...

Posted on December 22, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

It's that time of year again...time for the BeTuitive outing to the post office to spread a little goodwill and cheer.

Check out our experience with Operation Letters to Santa this year (and take in our new online magazine--vs. our former format, the e-newsletter).

And happy holidays!

December 22, 2006 in company newsletter, creating company newsletter, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email newsletter, email service, email services, email tracking, ezine marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

BP takes a step in the right direction.

Posted on December 22, 2006 by David Borra.

Over the years I have tried to follow all of the new and exciting breakthroughs in alternative energy. From solar panels to hybrid cars, each new innovation makes me feel that one day in my lifetime we may start to make things right with our planet and our future. No longer are we as a society simply passing on our problems to the next generation, but trying to take a stand now and reverse the harmful effects of pollution and our enormous waste of natural resources. I try to do my part in this world, but truly enjoy it when I see a major corporation, such as BP (Beyond Petroleum), taking a step in the right direction and making it more and more their main focus instead of an afterthought. Check out BP’s alternative energy website for more information.

December 22, 2006 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Social Search Engine

Posted on December 20, 2006 by Kevin G.

We all know that Google and Yahoo are the king and queen of internet search engines. They continue to flourish while the competitors struggle to keep their heads above water.

I was conducting research on search engines and found a unique engine with an intriguing edge. Though still in development, Decipho is a new engine that offers a personal aspect to searching. Users can filter search results based on “Shop/Services” or “Research/Info” categories or they can create their own criteria and rank websites with a Social Meter.

Let’s say you did a search and found great website deep within your search results, around the 20th result page. Normally it would be a pain to go through all of those results again to find the specific site and bookmarking websites is not always on peoples’ minds. Users can categorize their searches and rank websites. These results are saved and the website link appears in the right margin whenever that search term is entered.

I can tell there will be a lot more coming from this Social Search Engine.

December 20, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

ASIMO paves the way to a better, brighter future.

Posted on December 18, 2006 by David Borra.

Today I came across a commercial for Honda’s ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. ASIMO according to Honda is “the World’s Most Advanced Humanoid Robot." This new robot, which originally debuted on October 31, 2000, continues to advance and the latest model now has the ability to run. The main function the creators had intended for ASIMO was to be able to assist people who are in need, such as those that are confined to a bed or wheelchair. To me it seems this can really advance the healthcare industry. While some people may fear this advancement in technology, I embrace it and feel that it will really revolutionize the way we live. To read more information about ASIMO go here.

December 18, 2006 in company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, mass email, newsletter, newsletter design, nurturing relationships, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Speaking…All the Way to the Bank

Posted on October 31, 2006 by Vinnie Lacey.

“My criterion for success is pleasing people who can write checks that clear the bank.”
-Alan Weiss

You can’t get past the preface of Alan Weiss’ Money Talks: How to Make a Million as a Speaker (McGraw-Hill, 1998)—indeed not far beyond the title—and miss the crux of this 200+ page roadmap to the ins and outs of professional speaking. Weiss wants you to know he has made millions as a professional speaker and now, apparently, it’s your turn, too. Dilettantes beware: this book is not for the weak-hearted—nor the daydreamers fancying themselves the next Tony Robbins. While Weiss’ blunt, tongue-in-cheek delivery often comes across too smug for its own good, the content here is all business: the tools, targeted advice and piercing questions to push you head first into a career in public speaking.

In this review I will focus on three “big picture” lessons from Weiss’ marketing and sales techniques, although the book covers everything from developing content to publishing a book to staffing and supporting a business.

Big Lesson #1: Speaking professionally requires a lot of work.

Not surprising news, right?

Turns out the obvious is not so obvious. Weiss makes the distinction that having something to say—even with a superior ability to keep an audience captivated—does not make you a professional speaker. Only a public speaker. The truth is that most “professional” speakers find it difficult to put food on their plates just from speaking. The corollary to this first lesson is that you will expend more effort selling your speaking than actually delivering your lines.

Weiss catalogs several examples of professional speakers—some who have been speaking for many years—desperately trying to improve their business. In most scenarios the problem is not the content of the material, but rather how the individual has been defined.

Like any aspect of sales, speakers can fall into self-destructive attitudes and routines rather easily. Ongoing success means a willingness to do the advance research and constant self-analysis that centers you as a comprehensive solution to your client’s problem. Celebrities sell on name alone—they have it easy. But Weiss details the step by step process to honestly answer: “What do I bring to the table in my buyer’s terms?”

Naturally, then, chapters such as “What is a Professional Speaker?” and “Positioning Yourself in the Field” precede discussions of platform skills. Weiss insists, “The only reason to hire a speaker…is to improve the condition of the audience and, frequently, the organizations which they represent.”

BeTuitive uses the same criteria to develop content for our B2B clients. Great professional speakers, like great custom publications, leave a lasting impact and improve the lives of their audience. Relevancy and end results are everything. In this point lies the theme that Weiss returns to again and again. For all his boisterous opinions and “myth-destroying” contentions, the fundamental message is quite simple, bringing us to…

Big Lesson #2: Craft all aspects of your professional speaking career around value to the customer and sell on value.

Successful businesses and successful salespeople, of course, do this all the time. It’s getting there that’s difficult. In order to drive home this point, Weiss dedicates his first five chapters to identifying the buyer’s objectives, defining your value as a speaker and finding ways to match the two effectively. Particularly helpful are the topics:
• Responding effectively to the question, “What do you speak about?”
• Transitioning content knowledge and process skills into client results
• Leveraging past experiences to adult learning needs
• Determining where your ideal clients “live” (e.g. who has easiest established need, who taps into trends that drive your audience, who knows you exist as a speaker already, etc.)

Only by understanding the professional speaking process as a value-directed venture, Weiss contends, can you actually begin crafting a speech in the first place!

Of those three steps in the sales process, I found Weiss’ approach to defining your value as a speaker the most counterintuitive and challenging–bringing us to our final take-away, reprinted in its entirety for your convenience:

Big Lesson #3: “Define your value in the broadest conceptual terms, studiously avoiding industry, niche, and segment alignment.”

Huh? Isn’t it all about specialization? What happened to meeting exact objectives?

Weiss readily admits that some vehemently disagree with him, but writes, “Experience and circumstances will intelligently narrow [your market] as needed, but that winnowing process is often a gentle erosion around the edges, not a sharp knife slicing a pie into eights. These steps are equally applicable for the neophyte or the veteran.”

At first I had difficulty seeing this advice as anything more than motivational (c’mon champ, lots of people want to hear your spiel—it’s just a matter of getting their attention!) However, I think Weiss’ contention dovetails into his overall message of thinking critically about what you leave behind as a speaker. A value-based definition is broad by its very nature and may open new avenues of potential audience members. You may be capable of doing more than you think.

Weiss’ point may be best summed up: Approach and market as if every person were a potential audience member; specialize your value to the buyer. In other words, enable any buyer to buy from the outset. When building rapport, ask the right questions and position yourself as the solution to your buyer’s specific needs and areas of pain.

Money Talks is an excellent place to start thinking seriously about a career in professional speaking. Experienced speakers looking to elevate their careers can also benefit from Weiss’ bucking of the status quo. Making a living as a speaker is a difficult niche to carve out, delivering a fresh product an even bigger challenge. But the results can be rewarding and—as Weiss would have us remember—quite lucrative.

See you on the circuit.

For more information on Alan Weiss:

Summit Consulting Group

tags: Alan Weiss | Professional Speaking | Custom Publications | Money Talks
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October 31, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, email service, email services, email tracking, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Don't you be givin' me none of that bull...

Posted on October 27, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

So, it's been around for a couple of years, and you might be all like, "Yawn, big deal" or whatever, but I love Bullfighter.

It's this program that measures your communications in Word, PowerPoint and Outlook for bullsh*t. With the press of a button, it scans your document, and then gives you a readout and score. It singles out jargon (although not IT-related jargon seemingly--this sentence passed with flying colors:

The IRQ of your PCMCIA WiFi card is conflicting with your USB port; just use a CAT-5 Ethernet cable with an RJ45 connector to an ADSL router and then go to TuCows to download a driver update. Be sure to turn on download privileges on the OS and gateway firewalls, plus your SPAM and Trojan filters. (Or maybe just tell your Network Administrator to do it for you?))

Anyway, it measures sentence length and word length and pulls out buzzwords that you use/overuse/misuse.

I've been Bullfighting all day, and I tend to score pretty well; my highest score, though, came on a personal email.

Here's my score for this entry: 9.2 and certified bull-free!

IT blog jargon sentence provided by Josh Tabin.

tags: bullfighter | straight talk | Josh Tabin
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October 27, 2006 in bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Your Work or Your Life: Entrepreneurs Sound Off

Posted on August 04, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

More balance stuff: Here's another article I wrote for this month's BeTuitive newsletter. I interviewed several entrepreneurs about work and life, how the two intersect, and how they make time for life outside of work.

tags: entrepreneurs | work-life balance | custom publications |
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August 4, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, email service, email tracking, ezine, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Get More Done At Work, Have More Time For Life

Posted on July 28, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

A review of Never Check Email in the Morning

Are you a complete mess at the office? Do you find you’re returning calls a week after getting a voice mail? Then Never Check Email in the Morning is the book for you.

It’s also the book for you if you only occasionally feel overwhelmed or disorganized.

Of course, I was attracted to the book by the sensational title. When I suggested it for review, one of my colleagues said it sounded like a good idea, but that, seriously, I have to check email in the morning. I agreed then, and after having read the book, I still agree.

Having said that, there are many takeaways people can apply to amp up their productivity—and with that, their work-life satisfaction. Julie Morgenstern, “Oprah’s favorite organizing expert,” imparts a number of suggestions gleaned from her work with clients.

My time-saving gift for you: I have separated the suggestions into two categories: useful and really hard to accomplish.

Useful tips:

You’ve heard it before, but have you taken it to heart yet? Stop multi-tasking. It just scatters your ability to focus, and it takes you longer to get things done than if you concentrate solely on the task at hand.
How many steps from the revenue line is each item on your to-do list? Complete the items that will have the largest impact on the bottom line first.
To minimize interruptions, rehearse some catchphrases to get you temporarily off the hook, like “I’m working on a deadline right now. I’ll get back to you this afternoon.” (That means you really do have to get back to the interrupt-er that afternoon, by the way, otherwise he’ll never believe you and just plough ahead the next time you use your line.)
Do stuff right away. Are you returning from a sales call with a small tower of business cards? Don’t stack them behind your computer monitor; enter them in Outlook immediately.
If an employee shoddily completes work you delegated to her, don’t correct it yourself. Send it back for corrections. Delegation is about other people completing tasks.

Tips that require a major shift in thinking:

Never check email in the morning. Okay, I would just die if I couldn’t check my email in the morning: Not everyone I work with is in my time zone, as is the case with most people in this crazy, electronic world. Things happen when I am not in the office, things that could change my morning’s plans.
Morgenstern suggests a whole list of ways you can minimize time spent in meetings, but most of the suggestions require being a pest: Question the length of the meeting; ask if you really have to be there; see if you can send your assistant instead; make everyone in the meeting stand the whole time, etc.
The last chapter is called “Work Well With Others.” To do so, you need to be accessible, reliable, adaptable, respectful, clear and fair. If you have trouble with any one of these issues, it’s going to take more than a few actions points to turn you around. You will need to completely re-think the way you interact with people.

Tip I’m trying out:

Quiet hour: Many of my responsibilities require complete silence and concentration, but many others require interaction with people on my team. Every day from two o’clock to three o’clock next week will be “quiet hour” at BeTuitive, so everyone gets a chance to focus. I’ll let you know how it works out in a blog post.

Everyone has difficulties with some aspect of his work life, and honestly, Morgenstern touches on most of those troubles in her book. If you’re a procrastinator, she can help you out. Ditto if you’re a perfectionist, your office is disorganized or you take on too much work.

Not every chapter applies to every person, and not every challenge is discussed in the depth you might need or want. But, the book does a great job of identifying and illustrating common work concerns and helping the reader pinpoint his own problems.

tags: Never Check Email in the Morning | Julie Morgenstern | Oprah | book review
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July 28, 2006 in bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, mass email, newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Good writing isn't always correct writing

Posted on July 13, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Quick, which sounds better when you read it?

There are a lot of challenges our solution can help with.

There are a lot of challenges with which our solution can help.

One, according to your seventh grade English teacher, could get you thrown in the slammer by the grammar police, but...in some situations it might work better because it sounds less stilted.

Check out this entry on the Big Bad Book Blog.

tags: Big Bad Book Blog | Erin Nelsen | Greenleaf Book Group | writing correctly
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July 13, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email service, email services, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Come Sale Away With Me, Lads

Posted on June 30, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Tomorrow is July 1. Summer is saling right by. Don't sale close to the wind; you'll just get put about on the wrong tack, or even turn turtle. Instead, keep a weather eye open to Janet Ryan's column "Selling Skills for Non-Sales People," a regular component of the WorldWIT newsletter, Thinking Aloud.

(An aside: It's amazing how many nautical terms we use without knowing their origins. Check it out.)

tags: Janet Ryan | WorldWIT | selling skills | nautical terms
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June 30, 2006 in company blog, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, e mail newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email service, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Brother Blog Nominated

Posted on June 22, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Guess what, guess what? Our brother blog, BeConnected: Developing Your Customer Intuition, has been nominated for a Marketing Sherpa 2006 Readers' Choice Blog Award in the "Blogs on general (multiple topic) marketing" category. BeSure to vote!

tags: BeConnected | Peter Davidson | Marketing Sherpa | Readers' Choice Blog Awards
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June 22, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, email tracking, ezine marketing, mass email, newsletter sample, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Technology Dependency and You

Posted on June 15, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

File under "Stupid things you do that reveal something telling":

I'd printed out an article because it was long, and I wanted to take notes on it as I read. I spread the pages over my keyboard and started to read--and realized I WAS STILL USING MY MOUSE AS IF I WERE SCROLLING ON SCREEN.

There I was, hand on mouse, sliding it ever-downward. Even after I realized what I was doing and announced it to the room at large (everyone laughed at me), I felt my hand creeping back to the mouse. I was downright uncomfortable unless it was cradled beneath my palm. I had to move the mouse from the pad and hide it behind my laptop before I could return my attention to the article.

Yikes.

tags: technology dependency | reading on screen
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June 15, 2006 in create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email newsletter, ezine, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Contracts to Restrict Blogging?

Posted on May 04, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

The future: Clauses in employment contracts that regulate private blogs? They're talking about it in Australia. Professor Brian Fitzgerald:

"Yes the law will need to adapt, yes bloggers will need to adapt but also the big players will have to adapt," he says.

Read the article.

tags: personal blog | blog restrictions
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May 4, 2006 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email tracking, mass email, newsletter, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

So Simple, Yet So Right

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

In the past, I may have mentioned that, in my opinion, a little distraction never hurt anyone. And I do still think that getting away from a project for a few minutes allows you to return to it with a fresh perspective.

Yet. But. And.

That's all well and good, if that's what distractions are doing for you, but lately, that hasn't been the case for me. Whereas before I could enter a state of flow with relative ease, my brain has felt cluttered lately. To flow, I have needed silence and/or earphones. I have needed tunnel vision. I have needed no email notification popping up. No nothing.

So, go ahead and label me an exploration dummy, but I just discovered the Full-Screen view that you can use with Word (the program I'm mostly likely to be in while attempting to flow), and it has Changed My Life. Apparently, just getting rid of that little toolbar at the bottom of my screen and making me look at just one thing--the task at hand--is all it takes. So simple.

tags: flow | focus | Microsoft Word
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April 26, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Stuff That Comes Out of Your Mouth

Posted on April 19, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

I admit it. I use email more than I should. I've always thought I'm better at writing than I am at talking, so if I have something to say, I write it out, edit and hit send. When you're writing, no one waits as you pause to recollect that perfect word.

Lately, though, I've been thinking more about the importance of being able to speak with ease and confidence--for me, that's half the battle: recognizing that I can be confident in my speaking skills.

In pursuit of my improvement program, there are certain things I'm attempting to correct. I'm trying to eliminate the non-word "um" from my vocabulary, and I've tuned into other words that I use too much (like "essentially").

I found this article (it's a couple of years old, but no less relevant now) about the way women speak--using qualifiers, disclaimers and apologies--and how they're perceived as a result.

tags: speaking skills | writing skills | speech patterns | women's speech patterns
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April 19, 2006 in company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Judging a Book By Its Cover

Posted on April 10, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

How I wish I could say it's the words that suck people in to a publication! Actually, I am going to say it, but I'll put a "sometimes" in front of it: Sometimes words suck people in.

But, facing reality, I also must acknowledge that design is a great big part of it. So, I sat down with two of our designers and we talked about what's hot right now, what tactics you should employ, and what you should avoid.

Enjoy!

tags: business publication design | interaction with design |
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April 10, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email services, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter sample | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Point, Counterpoint: Designers Face Off

Posted on March 16, 2006 by Kat.

What makes good design good, and bad design bad? As with anything creative, there is a certain element of “I know it when I see it,” but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to analyze, strategize and critique design. When people scan a page looking for pertinent information, they are led by visual cues to which bits are most important. It is up to us, as marketers and designers, to provide those cues.

Electronic—Bad

Internetbiz.com

Kat O’Connor: A portal and search engine site, this one makes multiple glaring errors from the get-go. The page looks cluttered because there is lots of text, very little white space and no images to speak of.

The only image is the rotating advertisement in the upper right corner, and most of the ads are simply text, with or without blobs of color. (The good ads are the only saving grace of this page, and there are only a few of them, rotated amongst the ugly ones.)

The color scheme is bland, and nothing in particular draws the eye to one part of the page over another. The eye tends to wander over the page, not resting on any place in particular, as there’s nothing to make any part of the content stand out as important.

Headers and text are the same size. Text mainly consists of blue links, which don’t differentiate themselves from each other. Black, gray and blue are so similar in hue and/or value, that one doesn’t know where to start looking to find the important information.

The only distinct colors are the bright red and royal blue of the InternetBiz logo, which as a combination is garish and lacks subtlety. As a whole, it looks like a design from a kid putting together his very first Web page.

Dave Borra: It’s really basic. It uses primary colors, such as red and blue, as well as the default styles for links. It does function as a site, but lacks any sort of style.

The main job of this site is to locate other websites, so its main focus is information. But, I’d like to see a little more thought put into the design of it and use of color.

Overall, this piece is functional, but better design could improve the click-throughs.

Electronic—Good

AlamoShoes.com

Kat O’Connor: The first thing you see on the page is the photo of the shoes, which imparts at a half-second glance what the website is about. The color palate is warm, and the images have a softness to them which makes for a very comfortable feel.

The image of the smiling woman at the top gives a sense of the company being personal and friendly. The information is organized into logical categories, which are then designated by clear visual cues: “Women’s” and “Men’s” are in larger text, a slightly different but complementary font, and underlined all the way across to create distinct sections.

Dave Borra: This website has a really good color palette. I love the earth tones and the imagery. The navigation works, even though there doesn’t appear to be a main navigation bar located at the top.

The stitching is a nice subtle element, and the zipper draws attention to the branding as well as points to the products. This Web site functions not only as a commerce site, but it has good design as well.

Sarah's Note: I completely fell in to this Web site and immediately started surfing for shoes. Good design works!

Print—Bad

Oracle Database ad

Kat O’Connor: Its worst crime is that it just isn’t really outstanding in any way. The most visually attention-getting element is the stoplight red color, paired with the dark blue in the pie chart, which simply comes off as disconcertingly obnoxious.

The only image in the ad is not visually interesting, and only displays statistics without expanding on them: Why are they number one? What kind of real-world benefit do I get with Oracle? It doesn’t tell any kind of story. The text treatment—large, bold and black or grey—is also uninspired.

Dave Borra: While not too appealing and overly creative, this ad works for what it is intending to convey to the audience.

The copy in bold black type points out that Oracle Database is the world’s number one database. The pie chart below uses the red to stand out, and it reiterates what was said in the copy above it.

And, the logo at the bottom with the bold red strip going through it ties it all together and gives some weight to the bottom part of the ad. It’s up front, to the point and less conceptual.

Print—Good

EMC² magazine ad

Kat O’Connor: The idea behind this ad is simple but compelling. Associating puzzle-solving with information management is intriguing on its own, but it also allows for the creation of an unusual, very visually interesting design.

Mixing up the pieces of the photo makes it memorable because it is unexpected. Associating their services with the success of a hospital promotes the idea that it’s more than just number-crunching, but a vital function for human lives.

The background color is bright enough to be attention-getting without being overbearing, and the light, shadow and texture add further visual interest.

Dave Borra: I like the use of green and blue. Generally, green is used in hospital uniforms by doctors and nurses. This color has a soothing effect on people.

The copy “when information comes together, everybody feels much better” clearly ties in with the image of the puzzle. The piece has some structure to it, and that helps convey what the company does, which is information infrastructure.

This piece is successful in conveying the image of the company in a creative way.

tags: good design | bad design | design strategy
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March 16, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, email marketing, email marketing campaign, ezine, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, online newsletter, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Out of Ideas

Posted on March 03, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

The title does not refer to me. I am, in fact, positively brimming (yes, brimming) with ideas. Well, actually, sometimes I run a little low.

When I talk to people on the phone about why they want to use BeTuitive's services, a lot of the time, one of their concerns is that they're going to run out of ideas for content. We help you with a steady stream of ideas, but we also advocate the repurposing of other content: press releases, an article your SVP of marketing wrote for another publication and so on.

Repurposing only takes you so far--if your entire newsletter is filled up with pieces that your subscribers have seen in other places, no one's going to get excited about receiving your newsletter. But it does have its place.

Here's an article to put you on the road to repurposing.

tags: newsletter content | repurposing
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March 3, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Guest Blogger, Soon-to-be Regular Blogger

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

This afternoon's guest blogger will be Kat O'Connor. She'll be reviewing A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink, as the latest installment in the BeTuitive book club.

Guest bloggers for book reviews aren't an unusual occurrence here at the BeTuitive blog, but this guest review is special, because it marks the addition of Kat to the regular ranks of post-ers. You'll be seeing her thoughts on the BeTuitive blog on a regular basis (as well as mine.) Kat's a designer, so you can expect many of her posts to skew in that direction.

So everyone give Kat a hale and hearty welcome, and look forward to more frequent posts! Hip-hip-hooray!

tags: book club | Kat O'Connor
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February 13, 2006 in company blog, creating company newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

As If It Weren't Difficult Enough

Posted on February 08, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Let's face it. Putting together an e-newsletter is a hassle. There's a lot to think about: strategy, content, list management, design, construction, reporting, analysis, and on and on.

We all know the merits of the opt-in system: People expect and want the email from you; presumably, that means they'll recognize it when it hits their in-box. Then they'll open it, interact with it--and voila!--the newsletter has done its job.

So let's saying you're doing everything right, in terms of opt-in. And let's say most of your subscribers are receiving the email at their business address, but a significant portion of your subscribers are getting that email at their personal, Yahoo! or AOL, address.

Then let's say Yahoo! and AOL came up with the idea, in order to curtail the amount of illegitimate email reaching their users, to charge legitimate marketers for sending bulk messages to their users, adding yet another step (and more moolah) to an already complicated process.

You know me. I always try to look on the bright side. So here's the good in this: Well, probably people will get less spam (although it seems unlikely that spam will be Eliminated through this initiative), and then might have more time and attention and patience for your legitimate email.

Read the whole article here.

tags: Yahoo! | AOL | spam | legitimate email marketing
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February 8, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, mass email, newsletter outsource solution, online newsletter, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Authors Connect, People Buy More

Posted on February 03, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Here's something I missed: Amazon Connect. What an excellent, excellent idea!

Essentially, it's author blogs, the idea behind which is that, when fans feel more connected with authors, they'll buy more books.

Now, I happen to believe reading is a very personal thing. You invest hours into someone's work, and get to know the characters in the book well enough that sometimes you start to believe you know the author. The blog can only extend this feeling. If I read a book I love, and I find the author's blog, and I read it regularly, and that author talks about another book she has coming out, the chances of me buying that book are much higher.

I think this idea can be extended, too. Blogs and newsletters forge personal connections (when they have personal voices in them), and the opt-in recipients start to feel as if, through that voice communicating valuable information, that the voice is (dare I say?) a friend.

What a convoluted sentence. But you get my gist.

tags: Amazon Connect | author blogs |
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February 3, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Forced to slow down

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

There's nothing like a good respiratory flu to completely knock you on your a** for a week and make you reflect.

These are my stages of illness:

Denial--I can't be sick. I have far too much to do. I will try to get up and do these things anyway, only to feel worse.

Acceptance, mixed with denial--Okay, I'm sick today, but I will be fully recovered tomorrow. Move all of my appointments. Rail against disease.

Acceptance, mixed with fear--I'm still sick? How could I still be sick? What's wrong with me? Am I dying? Probably I'll be better tomorrow, so move all of my appointments.

Now, this is the farthest I've gone in the stages of sickness in a good long while (because I'm generally not sick for any longer than two or three days), but apparently I had something to learn over the last week, so I made it to the fourth stage, which is simply:

Acceptance--I've been to the doctor. I know I'm not going to be well for at least three more days. There's no point in fighting it. Let it wash over me and start to care about Days of our Lives and Starting Over because this is all I can care about, seeing as how my brain doesn't work right when you think about work, so there's no point in thinking about it. Just be sick.

Recovery is stage five, of course.

It's strange how today, even though my body is still physically not up to par, my brain feels far more nimble and clear than it did before I succumbed to illness. It was like an extremely unpleasant retreat.

So while I'm not going to recommend the flu to anyone (and I hope I didn't inadvertently do so to anyone in my office), in hindsight (once the muscle aches and incessant coughing are under control), it might have been good for me.

tags: flu season | What's a tag?

January 23, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e zine, email tracking, ezine, ezine marketing, newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Pants On Fire

Posted on January 11, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

I know, I know, everybody else is already talking about this, and you're probably sick of it, but I just cannot stop myself from commenting.

James Frey, of A Million Little Pieces-authoring fame, has been accused of exaggerating many of the exploits that he details in his memoir. (See The Smoking Gun for a really long article about it.)

I haven't read it because two things prevent me from doing so: 1. I believe books about drug/alcohol-fueled stupidity tend to be boring. 2. I won't read an Oprah-book-club book. (That's just plain book-snobbery, I know. Go ahead and yell at me.)

The issue at hand for me is this (and I feel like it can be applied to all kinds of writing, including marketing writing, writing for your newsletter, blogging, etc.): When you say something is true, it had just better be true. That doesn't mean mostly true. It has to be completely true for it to be true.

A while ago, I read The Fabulist by Stephen Glass (the disgraced journalist who was fired for making up articles), and discovered afterward that many of the scenes in the book turned out to be scenes that actually occurred in his life. But this book was filed in the fiction section. Stephen Glass (or one of his advisers, perhaps) had learned his lesson.

But, here's the thing that makes me feel kinda ashamed: Now I want to read A Million Little Pieces. Books about someone else's drunken stumblings might be boring, but books about liars? Fascinating.

I wonder how many other people will feel the same way about this and rush to their nearest book store to see what all the fuss is about? And, I wonder if this stage in Frey's life will be fodder for memoir number three.

tags: James Frey | A Million Little Pieces | Stephen Glass | The Fabulist
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January 11, 2006 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, ezine marketing, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Pulling Pertinent Posts

Posted on January 05, 2006 by Sarah Eaton.

Feed me! Feed yourself! Feed the world!

I'm hungry--for information (and also food; my mid-afternoon healthy snack of a pear didn't quite hit the spot today)--and, like any good lazy person, I like it to come to me.

I dig this article from Technology Review. It's comprehensive, the voice is human rather than technical, and it will tell you what's up-and-coming: Read it.

tags: Technology Review | RSS feeds | hunger
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January 5, 2006 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, e zine, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email services, email tracking, mass email, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Santa For A Day (You Can Do It, Too)

Posted on December 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

When BeTuitive’s president, Todd Smart, told us we were going on a field trip before our holiday party and wouldn’t tell us what it was, I was a little nervous about it. I’m not very fond of surprises.

My discomfort wasn’t much alleviated when he directed us to the Harrison Street post office. What could be there?

“It can’t be the actual post office we’re going to," Kevin said. “It’s something around the post office. He just said the post office to throw us off.”

Not so. As it turns out, the Harrison Street post office in Chicago is home to thousands upon thousands of letters that people send to Santa. Some are from kids, asking for toys. But, most are from parents, asking for help.

The surprise field trip was a chance for each of us to act as Santa, to select a letter, buy the requested items and make someone’s holiday a little happier.

It all started in the 1920s when postal workers in New York City reached into their own pockets to buy gifts for poor children who had written to Santa. Their actions rescued the letters from an end in the dead-letter box. (For more information, go to Operation Letters to Santa.)

Each of us spent close to an hour reading. I found a letter from a woman whose house had burned down, who needed some basic supplies for her daughters. Kat chose a request from a child who wanted her mom to have something nice. Dave selected a letter from someone requesting educational toys for a learning academy.

We bought the presents, packaged the items and sent them off. Afterwards, we did the usual company holiday party of dinner and drinks. It was nice; we all had fun, but I think the part that all of us will remember most fondly is the field trip. I hope we make a tradition of it.

You still have a few days if you’re interested in making a child’s holiday brighter. Contact the post office in New York City by dialing 877.840.0459, or in Chicago at 312.983.8293 for more information.

tags: Operation Letters to Santa | company holiday party
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December 20, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

How Not To Nurture Relationships

Posted on December 08, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Just ask C. Montgomery Burns. When it comes to management style, no one possesses quite the same...panache, verve, or swagger. Call it what you will; he knows how to be a multi-bajillionaire who lives forever. He shares his secrets here.

tags: The Simpsons | C. Montgomery Burns | management style
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December 8, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e zine, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email service, email tracking, mass email, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter service, nurturing relationships | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Clever Wordplay Makes Me Giggle

Posted on November 18, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

From the scope of this site, it would seem like it's something that everyone knows about but me. But, I'm blogging it anyway, because it made me giggle.

It's a buzzword dictionary! Sometimes the entries are clever, sometimes silly, sometimes insightful, and sometimes they're groaners, too.

And, because it's Friday, you totally have my permission to waste the next ten minutes of your life expanding your buzzword vocabulary with words like:

sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

and

centergistic: Focusing on one main goal or purpose. "We need to keep this meeting centergistic if we're going to make our deadline."

Play with buzzwords here.

tags: buzzwords | Friday fun |
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November 18, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter format, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter template, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Future Is Now, And 2006 Is Just Around The Corner

Posted on November 16, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Things that I love about November:

1. The abrupt change in weather

2. 2006 I-Can-See-The-Future lists

3. Thanksgiving

Okay, so the first in that list is a lie, and the third is obvious, but the second is true true true. Because lists, in and of themselves, are fun, but when they're lists about the Future? Even better. (I also like Best-Of-This-Year lists, and also Worst-Of-This-Year lists, but that's a story for December.)

So, without further ado, here's a list of predictions from Drew Neisser. What's to happen in 2006? Why, this:

Newest Job Title: Blog Monitor

Podcasting: Overhyped Again

And much more, so read on.

tags: Drew Neisser | Marketing in 2006 | prediction list
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November 16, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, email tracking, ezine marketing, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Our Chief in Chief Marketer

Posted on November 03, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

E-zine publishing is an art, my friends. And...it is a science. How do you combine the two to make the perfect product--form and function?

Todd Smart sat down with Eda Galeno of Chief Marketer recently and answered her questions on the subject. A snippet to whet your hunger for knowledge: When asked what the ingredients to a successful newsletter are, he replied that content with tangible value was the most important.

E-Zine IQ: But how do you gauge relevance for a third party?

Smart: You must understand what prospects and customers think is valuable. A lot of companies look inward instead of outward, and the newsletter becomes all about them. When we’re working for a customer that hires us to develop their newsletter, we ask what kind of information will make their customers’ and prospects’ lives better. We want to know what difficulties they experience, so we can alleviate them. Ultimately, we’re looking for the answer to this question: What kind of information is so valuable to your subscribers that they would pay for it? Now, I’m not asking that they do pay for it. But the discovery process of formulating a newsletter and putting together relevant content depends on where the reader places importance.

You can read the whole thing here.

tags: Todd Smart | Eda Galeno | Chief Marketer | marketing interview
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November 3, 2005 in create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email service, email services, email tracking, mass email, newsletter format, newsletter sample, newsletter service, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

You're Wasting Other People's Valuable Time By Blogging

Posted on October 25, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

From AdAge (reg. required): 35 million people read blogs at work, wasting 4.8 billion work hours in 2005 (reading blogs unconnected to their jobs.)

I guess if you're doing a marketing blog you needn't feel too guilty about causing all of that slacking on the job, because you're being relevant...

Ooo--here's another good stat: Currently there are 19.6 million blogs, and:

If that growth were to continue, all 6.7 billion people on the planet will have a blog by April 2009.

And at that point, all work will cease and that's all we'll do all day, blog and read each other's blogs.

tags: AdAge | blog growth | blog stats | worker productivity
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October 25, 2005 in company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, ezine marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Aggregator Addiction and You

Posted on October 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Okay, I'll admit it: A more accurate headline for this post should be "Aggregator Addiction and Me."

Over the last week, I've been switching computers and the final thing to be instated on my machine today was NewsGator. When I hit the icon and the little folders started populating, I felt a little misty with relief.

It turns out that, in my world, blog reading is a great way to decompress and get my brain moving in a different direction. A tiny little break between working on larger projects. However, recently I heard from a friend that she disabled her news aggregator because it was too distracting and too tough to keep up with.

What do you think?

tags: news aggregator | NewsGator | technology addiction
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October 20, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e newsletter, e zine, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email services, ezine, mass email, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Small Rant About Unsubscribing

Posted on October 14, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

It's only a small rant, but the sentiment behind it is big. And that sentiment is this: Unsubscribing should be easy.

I'm switching computers, so I'm also taking the opportunity to clean house. One of the things I'm doing is unsubscribing to newsletters that I never read, or newsletters that are ugly. Or both. In doing so, I'm very much surprised by how difficult certain companies make it to unsubscribe.

The worst one I've run across asks you to email them with a certain phrase in the subject line, and then they send you back a message saying that they got a message from you indicating that you want to unsubscribe, and could it possibly be true? If so, then reply to this other, totally different email address, with something else specific in the subject line.

Essentially this is a double opt-out, and it ain't a good idea, friends. Because before I just thought their newsletter was ugly. Now I have a bad taste in my mouth about the entire company.

tags: unsubscribe policy | ugly newsletters
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October 14, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e zine, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter sample, nurturing relationships | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Closeness That Blogging Brings

Posted on October 12, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

So, one of the best things about blogs, as far as I can tell, is that they allow you to feel a certain...closeness with the person who writes it. You hear their thoughts on a regular basis, when normally you might hear from them only sporadically or not at all. (Newsletters do the same thing, in a different way.)

Case in point: Musician blogs. Here's a list of a bunch of musicians who are blogging out there, so you can cozy up to your favorite music-maker.

tags: building relationships | musicians' blogs | blog philosophy
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October 12, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

There's a hole in the bucket, dear readers

Posted on October 05, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Melinda Krueger thinks of email customer lists as leaky buckets. Sure, you're always filling the bucket with new addresses, but there are still those addresses that are leaking out the hole.

How do you turn a cataract of escaping email addresses into a trickle? Check out her article for some ideas, among them developing a reactivation program. (Registration required.)

Thanks to Mark Brownlow for pointing it out.

tags: Melinda Krueger | list hygiene | Mark Brownlow | reactivation programs
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October 5, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, online newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It's People! Your List Is People!

Posted on October 04, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

To tell you the truth, the working title for this article was "Just Like Soylent Green, Your List Is People." But I had some trouble reconciling the goodness/badness of it all. (Example: "Your list is people, and that's a good thing; however, it is not a good thing that Soylent Green is people, not at all." Such a sentence does not a compelling opener make.)

Thus, the title became "Great Email Customer Service Begins With a Realization: There's a Human Being Behind Every Address."

It originally appeared in September's BeTuitive e-newsletter (for which you can sign up here), and it's about the opportunities that you have to make a great impression on the people who make up your list when they hit reply.

tags: email customer service | company newsletter | Soylent Green
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October 4, 2005 in bulk email marketing, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter service, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Image Control, "The Shining" as rom-com

Posted on October 03, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

As proof that you can make anything look like something else if you try hard enough: View a trailer of "The Shining" that makes it look like Meg Ryan might pop into a scene at any time. (Plus, it's hilarious.)

Think about your own methods that you use to "preview" your company. How do they tell your story--do they accurately portray what your customers will receive from you? Setting expectations correctly makes for higher customer satisfaction.

An e-newsletter can be a great vehicle for telling your story to your customers and prospects...

tags: corporate image | company e-newsletter | The Shining
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October 3, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, email marketing, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It's Monday, and I'm already off topic

Posted on September 26, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Most people wait till Friday to swerve off topic, but not me. Nosiree, I'll go off topic when I want, where I want. Yeah.

Anyway, I like words, and so I thought this was excellent (found via Boing Boing). Adam Jacot de Boinod put a collection together of words from around the world that it's unlikely you've heard before, and they're neat-o. How do you say skimming stones in Norweigan? Plimpplampplettere.

See some more here.

tags: word play | Boing Boing | Adam Jacot de Boinod
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September 26, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fears Confirmed

Posted on September 23, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Um, yikes:

"Men and women can do the same thing, but if they both act assertive, women are rated less effective because we expect men to do that," Cummings noted. Moreover, research shows that of the people who emerge as leaders in a laboratory setting -- where men and women come together without knowing one another -- male leaders are judged more effective than women leaders. "That's the scary part: Men and women can exhibit the same results and accomplishments and the perception of their effectiveness is different."

[link to Wharton article]

tags: leadership | women and men | Wharton
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September 23, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Just Delete It.

Posted on September 22, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Happily, when I came in this morning, the receiving end of my email was back in business. So how do I cope with everything that came in then and everything that comes in today?

Despite the title, I'm not deleting Everything. Just everything that's not important. I've tried to use email messages left in my inbox as a reminder of something that is still in process, but it just doesn't work.

Scott Reeves agrees with me, as you'll see in this article he wrote for Forbes.

tags: Scott Reeves | Forbes | email efficiency
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September 22, 2005 in creating company newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Standby: Technological Difficulties

Posted on September 21, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Goodness me, but I'm dependent on my email for communication, even with people who are within earshot. Witness this exchange I had with a co-worker when we discovered that there's some testing happening that prohibits us from being able to reliably receive email messages at our regular accounts this morning:

"We can use our private accounts, our Yahoo! accounts and stuff to talk to each other."

"Yes...or we could just talk to each other with words that come from our mouths."

The funny thing is that, for the most part, we're using our private accounts rather than our mouths to talk to each other. Not because of anti-social tendencies, but because it's habit. It's easier. It doesn't disrupt the other person's flow.

p>tags: technical difficulties | internal communication
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September 21, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Book smart, street smart, Internet smart

Posted on September 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

All of our little technological helpers--are they making us smarter or dumber?

My co-worker often jokes that she has no short-term memory; instead, she has her Outlook calendar. One could argue that, because she isn't spending all of her time thinking about what she has to do because the reminders tell her, she can spend her time more effectively, doing higher-level thinking.

Another example I can recall--really not too long ago in the grand scheme of things, before the Internet was all-pervasive in my places of business--has me saying things like: "Hey, I have a really good idea for this article, and I know something similar happened a while ago that I can lead in with, but...I can't remember when or what exactly." Now I ask the Internet.

So does that me smarter? It makes me more efficient, that's for darn sure.

Check out this CNET article, which debates both sides of the issue.

tags: Internet intelligence | CNET
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September 20, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email newsletter, email service, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter sample, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Combine Efforts for More Return

Posted on September 19, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Brian Carroll of the B2B Lead Generation Blog wrote a super-duper article for RainToday.com.

The crux of it can be found in this paragraph (although it's well worth reading the entire article):

Targeted email combined with outbound calling is the ideal 1-2 punch for increasing leads, sales activity and revenue. It has long been accepted that combining outbound calling with direct mail marketing dramatically increases results in B2B programs.

Also, brother blog BeConnected's author Peter Davidson contributes an interesting quote.

tags: Brian Carroll | B2B Lead Generation Blog | Peter Davidson | cold calling | email marketing
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September 19, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google Desktop is awesome.

Posted on September 16, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I downloaded it (Google Desktop) over night and have had the occasion to use it three times this morning already. Holy time-saver.

I recommended it to my co-workers today, and here is what Kevin the Intern had to say:

yes, you're right. this thing kicks a**.

So there you have it.

tags: Google | Google Desktop | Kevin the Intern
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September 16, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter design, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Google+Blogs=Google Blog Search

Posted on September 14, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

So what do you think? When Google Blog Search goes live, will it have a significant impact on blog traffic and popularity? Is the thing that's holding blogs back from the common people the lack of Google searchability?

Maybe...

tags: Google Blog Search
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September 14, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Newsletter Strategy: Planning Your Content

Posted on September 13, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Via Marketing eYe, guest blogger and consultant Allan Katz talks about the 3 elements to a newsletter, in terms of content. His elements are 1. News, 2. Selling, and 3. Article of Interest (including humor).

I like seeing what the other folks are saying about the newsletter biz, and these do seem to be the right pieces for a do-it-yourself or starter type of newsletter. I also like Katz's recommendation to go light on the sales push. But I would recommend strategizing beyond this.

Reading is a leading indicator of future purchases; you need to think of that when you're determining the overarching goal for your newsletter, and the elements that make it up.

Here's an example: What kind of news interests your audience? Does the same news interest everyone in your audience? No? Then maybe you should think about list segmentation. It's important to be relevant and timely, and in most cases, to position yourself as a thought leader--with articles that your readers are unlikely to find elsewhere in their world.

tags: Allan Katz | Marketing eYe | newsletter strategy
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September 13, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hire Good People in One-Third the Time

Posted on September 09, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Below you will find the opening of Todd's rant from August's BeTuitive newsletter. (Like what you see? Sign up for it! It's totally free. Hey! I made a little poem.)

QUALIFICATIONS

I am a professional self-starter with excellent organizational and problem-solving skills. I learn quickly and am a dedicated worker, with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills. I possess the ability to balance and prioritize multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Yes, yes. That's what they all say. And I almost mean that literally. Everyone has read the same resume books and created pretty much the same document.

How do you get the information you really need to know in order to hire a qualified applicant without wading through the same litany of qualifications over and over and over again?

Here, you can read the rest of the rant.

Any ideas of your own? Leave 'em in comments.

tags: Todd Smart | company newsletter | BeTuitive
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September 9, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, email service, email services, email tracking, ezine, ezine marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fantastic Newsletter, Four Steps

Posted on September 07, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

You're invited! Yes, you!

Remember last week when I was talking about how Todd Smart's been on the road spreading the good word about e-newsletters? No? Well, go here then.

Anyway, he's doing a webinar tomorrow, in which he will speak on the four steps to creating a fantastic email newsletter. Would you like to sign up? You can, just email me.

tags: Todd Smart | webinars | email newsletters
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September 7, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e zine, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Grow Your List With Corpses

Posted on September 06, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Just saw something rather clever (and macabre).

You send an email to Staci Wilson at horror.about.com telling her which corpse you'd most like to marry (because this is the "Corpse Bride" sweepstakes [new Tim Burton stop-motion animated movie], not because she is a sick-o), and you're entered into a sweepstakes to win sweatshirts and magnets and garter belts and such.

Being savvy about this kind of thing, the folks at Warner Bros. also toss in a pitch for you to sign up to receive updates from them about the movie. I'll bet they get a pretty decent bump in their list from it.

When it comes to that big question that everyone always asks: "How do I grow my list for my opt-in e-newsletter?," there are a lot of answers. And one is "Give and ye shall receive."

tags: Corpse Bride | Tim Burton | e-newsletter list
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September 6, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, e mail newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email tracking, ezine, ezine marketing, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Gah! I missed it!

Posted on September 01, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Yesterday was Blog Day, and I totally spaced it. So today, for me, is an unofficial extension.

Here are my four recommendations (I'm counting my post from earlier this week about The WebMarketCentral blog as the fifth). Of the recommendations below, only one has anything to do with marketing. Forewarned is forearmed.

standBy Bert is a blog written by the marvelous Elizabeth Crane. I picked up All This Heavenly Glory randomly from the new books section of the library, devoured it with delight, and have since become a Fan.
WonderBranding: Marketing to Women is a blog I just caught on to. So far it has failed to disappoint. Michele Miller's voice is strong.
PostSecret you might already know about. People anonymously create and send postcards with their secrets on them, and PostSecret publishes them once a week. It's art, man.
Agony & Ivy bloggers blog about the trials, tribulations and joys of being a Cubs fan. Lately more about trials and tribulations. With reason.

Bon appetit!

September 1, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Q&A 4 U: How to Make Fantastic E-Newsletters

Posted on August 31, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Todd Smart loves to spread the word about eMarketing, specifically about e-newsletters.

That's right, folks, BeTuitive "how to make a newsletter" secrets revealed here. The four steps to making great e-mail newsletters:

Start with the outcome in mind.
Strategize: Think about list segmentation and about how much educational and how much promotional material you want to include.
Concentrate on content: What will be compelling to your readers? What will make their lives better?
Analyze results: Pull out the pertinent data that can be fed to sales for them to act on it.

Now, those four points might make a bunch of other questions arise. Lucky for you, Todd gathered up the FAQs from his speaking tour, and you can find those questions (and his answers) here.

tags: Todd Smart | eMarketing Excellence Summit | e-newsletter strategy | list segmentation
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August 31, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, newsletter marketing, nurturing relationships, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Effective, Efficient: WebMarketCentral Blog

Posted on August 30, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

In my continuing quest to provide you with ways to make your marketing life easier, allow me to recommend Tom Pick's blog to you: The WebMarketCentral Blog.

Trying to think how to describe it accurately I came up with this: Thought. There's a lot of thought that goes into this blog---interviews, rants, and just some thoughtful ruminations on marketing issues.

tags: Tom Pick | marketing blogs
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August 30, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Does worrying spur action?

Posted on August 29, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I'm going for it today--for over a month, I've had the instructions for adding Technorati tags (thanks, Peter) languishing in my "In Process" folder of my email; yet because of my woeful html inexperience, I have been pretending they're not there.

Avoidance no more, I say! After reading Wayne Hulbert's post about visitor logs (he says not to worry too much about them, time will take its course; I agree with this...to a degree; to me, it seems sort of like the old "Do what you love, and the money will follow" adage--well, yes, but you've got to take some action, too, and, in my world, there's nothing like worrying for spurring me to action), I'm inspired.

Hence, you will notice the new little tags below in this and all of my following posts.

tags: Technorati tags | Wayne Hulbert | visitor logs | Peter Davidson
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August 29, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Multiple Brains For the Price of One

Posted on August 25, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I just love talking about brains; as a result, sometimes I wonder how many hits my blog gets from people who are looking for zombie sites. When really it's all about the e-newsletter: newsletter design, newsletter content--how to create a really great newsletter, when you come right down to it.

And the number five reason why it's a good idea to outsource your newsletter? It combines elements of some of our previous ideas (as seen below). You get a designer, an editor, a writer, a list manager, a strategy team. You get all of those things, for the price of hiring one person to work on your newsletter for you in house. That's right: a whole bunch of brains for the price of one.

5. Multiple brains for the price of one.
4. Design that pops and complements the custom content.
3. Professional writing and editing services at your disposal.
2. You're working with experts; you can let go of the worry.
1. Because you're so flippin' busy.

August 25, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Original Artwork in Newsletter Design

Posted on August 09, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Just to expand a bit on last week's post (let's call this post Reason to Outsource number 4b), and also so you can look at my August header, of which I am particularly fond (so click through, all you aggregators, and check it out), keep in mind that professional artwork and professional design tend to go hand-in-hand: Where there are professional designers, so too can there be found professional artists (usually).

For our own newsletter, we customize the header each month. And then it migrates over to my blog. And I think it's pretty cool. So there.

What do you think?

August 9, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Newsletter Design: Looking Good

Posted on August 04, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I was chatting with BeTuitive's designer the other day, and she mentioned that one of her major pet peeves is when people think that, to design a website, all they have to do is hire a high school kid with time to kill over the summer, and there it is.

That's one way to go about getting something designed for you, certainly (and no offense to all those ultra-savvy design genius high school students out there--I'm sure you could design circles around me), but there are advantages to hiring someone with mad skillz and experience, who can give you what you want in your secret heart of hearts.

Sure, you could get someone in-house to design your newsletter. You could hire a freelance designer to design your newsletter. You could find a high school kid whose friends are all at summer camp to design your newsletter.

Or, you could hire a newsletter designer, someone who knows the ins and outs of both design and newsletters, as part of the package when you outsource your newsletter.

Reasons to do so:

4. Design that pops and complements the custom content.
3. Professional writing and editing services at your disposal.
2. You're working with experts; you can let go of the worry.
1. Because you're so flippin' busy.

August 4, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What do you Really need?

Posted on August 03, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Me, I'm a bit of a packrat. I think might need some stuff that I haven't needed in a year. Generally, I've found this to be untrue. However, there have been occasions where I've been longing for something that I threw out because I only, apparently, needed it once every three years, although I can't think of a concrete example right now, so maybe thinking that happens is only a symptom of the packrat disease.

I had the very pleasant experience of moving to a more spacious desk area yesterday (I'm just down the hallway from where I was), and, after the moving experience, I'm convinced that everyone should move (or pretend to move) at least once a year.

By pretend to move, I mean what Dana suggests here (via 37 Signals), put all of the stuff that's turning your desk into a federally-recognized disaster area into a box. All of it. Even your favorite mechanical pencil. You'll get it out again. Because you need it. And throw out the stuff you don't need.

August 3, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Beware the dreaded bad seed

Posted on August 01, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

In Todd's rant for last month's newsletter, he says there are three ways to create a positive work environment (and he ain't talkin' 'bout feng shui) and encourage work groups to perform at a high level :

Keep people focused on their work by placing teams together in the same physical space.

Remove bad seeds, those workers who either actively or passively undermine the efforts of the group.

Foster genuine conversations between team members, where everyone can feel safe enough to admit their faults and take suggestions for new methods.

Read more about how to implement those steps.

August 1, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Blog with a Lot of Potential

Posted on July 29, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

There's nothing quite so satisfying as finding a new blog to add to one's ever-growing subscription list. Wait, that sounds a little pathetic. But I do mean it. Sigh.

Check out Wendy Maynard's blog, "Kinetic Ideas," because that's just what you'll get from her.

July 29, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Outsource for Expertise, Not Just Ease

Posted on July 27, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Inside of a newsletter are many, many words. Those words must be relevant to your readers. Those words must be written (and re-written) by somebody.

And the writing is just the beginning. The words must be edited, copy-edited and proofread. The words must have a consistent style and tone. The words must correctly project the image that your company projects.

This takes two things, to get it done right:
1. Time
2. Expertise

Reason number three for outsourcing your newsletter: professional writing and editing services at your disposal.

3. Professional writing and editing services at your disposal.
2. You're working with experts; you can let go of the worry.
1. Because you're so flippin' busy.

July 27, 2005 in bulk email marketing, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Only the Best For You

Posted on July 26, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Probably you already subscribe to all of the marketing blogs Forbes lists as the best. But go ahead, broaden your horizons--check out some art or literary blogs.

Thanks to Cymfony's Marketing Insight for pointing the way.

July 26, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Catch Success Fever With Webinar Tomorrow

Posted on July 25, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

What happens when author Susan Lucia Annunzio and editorial director Susan Fisher come together to discuss success? An aural spectacle the likes of which have never been heard! And that's a promise.

Actually, the two will go Susan-to-Susan in a discussion about Annunzio's book: "Contagious Success: Spreading High Performance Throughout Your Organization." Fisher will interview her, and then you'll have a chance to ask questions, too, because--that's right--you're invited.

Since you already know the what and the who, here are the answers to the rest of your likely questions:

When: Tuesday, July 26th at 1 p.m. CST
Where: On the web and in your telephone
How: The magic of technology (if you email me, I'll give you instructions for log-in)
Why: Because I like you

You can read Susan's review here.

July 25, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

On the Road Again

Posted on July 22, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

BeTuitive's fearless leader, Todd Smart, is criss-crossing the country talking to people about the value of e-newsletters and segmentation for a targeted, relevant message.

Check out the article in DMNews, and see if you'll be able to catch Todd when he comes to a city near you:

August 9: Kansas City, MO
August 18: Phoenix, AZ
August 23: San Diego, CA
August 30: San Francisco, CA

[Sign up here]

July 22, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Absolutely Something: That's What Blogs Are Good For

Posted on July 21, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I had the chance to interview Peter Davidson of the BeConnected blog this month for the BeTuitive newsletter and ask him some burning questions that might be on your mind as well.

From establishing credibility to reading metrics, Peter leans back in his virtual chair, lights up his virtual pipe and holds forth on a broad range of blog topics.

Here's your chance to listen in, and then really impress your kids at the dinner table (and your colleagues at the conference table) with your extensive knowledge about this up-and-coming means of communication: the blog.

Read all about it.

July 21, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Cheers and Jeers and Everything in Between

Posted on July 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I'm back! And here is the ~~great~~ semi-okay thing that happened in my absence: The bug in my account ~~is fixed~~ has the appearance of being fixed, but is not really, ~~and I feel a lot more comfortable posting~~. I'm still going to take a crash course in html because, seriously, I just should.

I'm swamped right now catching up on all of the stuff that I missed out on during the first two days of the week, but here's two completely random things that might actually work better on Peter's blog, BeConnected, because they're all about customer intuition:

You know that commercial with Mandy Patinkin in it for Crestor? Why does he have to say "That's about half" after he tells us it does something (lowers cholesterol or something) by 52%? Has Crestor intuited that its target audience is kind of dumb?
Today my intern went to Chipotle for lunch, and I had him pick something up for me. What I wanted when I went to the website was to find the burrito-fixin's bar. I wanted it to look exactly like it looks when I'm at Chipotle, and I'm standing on the other side of the counter choosing black beans or pinto beans. And that is exactly what there was. How often does that happen--that you want something, and it's just there?

More on e-newsletter outsourcing tomorrow.

July 20, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, company blog, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

“Contagious Success: Spreading High Performance Throughout Your Organization”

Posted on July 14, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

By Susan E. Fisher

Business books are a lot like self-help books: They make some pretty obvious points telling you to do things you already know in your gut that you should be doing. Just as the hottest books making the self-improvement rounds counsel you to take control of your life so you can lose weight or make money, today's popular business books urge businesses to empower their workers to raise productivity and profits.

“Contagious Success: Spreading High Performance Throughout Your Organization” by Susan Lucia Annunzio provides no startling revelations; the basic premise tells you what you know instinctively. Boil down her 256-page tome into a sentence and you get this prescription: “Value people, and you’ll get better business results.”

Yet, the book is a fresh departure from the hollow analysis of the too-many formulaic volumes cramming the self-help and business books shelves. Its clearly articulated points are backed by considerable analysis and hard numbers. Annunzio’s Hudson Highland Center for High Performance studied more than 3,000 “knowledge workers” from Georgia to Shanghai in companies from Abbott Laboratories to Zurich North America.

The hard data alone would make the book worthy material for any managers or entrepreneurs eager to up their organization’s performance. Annunzio takes the book to the next level by serving up the lessons provided by the study as a simple, easy-to-digest guide.

The management consultant identified the characteristics that make high-performing workgroups soar: valuing people, optimizing critical thinking and seizing opportunities. “For the first time, quantifiable proof that there is a direct correlation between how you treat people and financial results,” the author claims.

Certainly, it is sad to think that businesses actually need quantifiable proof to realize there’s a meaningful link between how you deal with employees and financial results.

Still, the point should be well taken and used as a springboard for the other useful guidance Annunzio offers:

The workgroup (defined as a unit that works together on a temporary or permanent basis with common goals and shared experience) is the core unit of the company, not the individual.

Business, the book notes, is a team sport. If you have a great player in a lousy squad, chances are better that the failing team will bring the great player down, rather than that the great player will convert losers to winners. Focus on developing great workgroups.

2. Great workgroups are made, not born.

Organizations must deliberately create environments for workgroups that can sustain high performance. The right environment is much more about providing respect than resources. “Treat smart people as if they are smart people,” the book counsels. High-performing groups create a “learning environment in which people can take risks, generate new ideas, make mistakes and learn from them.”

3. Don’t clip the wings off high-flying groups.

Nothing sends great performers sputtering to mediocrity faster than micromanaging and hording information, leaders who act in their own self-interest and companies that have short-term, rather than long-term goals. Give high-performing groups the support they need.

In short, “success is contagious,” as Annunzio writes in the opening sentence of the book. But, success does not spread like the stomach flu in a nursery school class. Instead it has to be nurtured in something of a corporate Petri dish.

To take the analysis that direction, Annunzio and her able team of researchers would have to take a slightly different tack and segment the types of workgroups they study.

Of course, Annunzio and their team are happy to help with the task. The Hudson Highland Center for High Performance will benchmark your company against the findings of the study. Their experts promise to pinpoint “the three aspects of your company’s work environment that require immediate attention.” Check out the company’s offer on the Web.

So create a work environment that lets smart people act smart, and your company will reap the benefits.

Learn how to spread high performance throughout your organization. BeTuitive Marketing invites you to a special question and answer webinar session with “Contagious Success” author Susan Lucia Annunzio at 1 p.m. Central on July 26. Just let us know by emailing us. You will receive instructions with more details.

July 14, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e zine, email service, ezine, mass email, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

There's such a thing as too much organization

Posted on July 08, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

If you place post-it tabs in your library books to make sure you complete them on time, it is time for you to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and then go straight to your computer and book the next flight to a Caribbean island where you can spend the next week lying on a beach and not putting post-it notes in or on anything.

But if you look at that picture and think "Heck! I've been waiting my whole life for someone to tell me it's okay to portion out my library-book reading in the form of extreme post-it control," then perhaps you would not like to outsource your newsletter marketing to someone else, regardless of their expertise or trustworthiness. I suspect you wouldn't be able to let go of the project at all.

Which is the number two reason for outsourcing your newsletter:

2. You're working with experts; you can let go of the worry.

1. Because you're so flippin' busy.

Ten yet to come.

Thanks to Lifehacker for the library-book suggestion.

July 8, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Outsource Your Marketing, Outsource Your Headache

Posted on July 07, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Poping Lin interviews Gail J. McGovern in Harvard Business School Working Knowledge to find out whether or not you should outsource your marketing. I know you're all on pins and needles about this very issue, so I thought I'd pass it along to you.

She says that analytical functions are prime to be outsourced. I would argue that some strategical aspects of marketing (such as a newsletter, of course, or email alerts) can be outsourced very effectively as long as the creator of your email newsletter regards its relationship with you as a partnership and works to strategize with you to give you the desired outcome.

Let me know what you think.

[HBSWK article]

July 7, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Because You're So Flippin' Busy

Posted on July 05, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

You've been waking up at three a.m. every day for the last week with the same thought: Man, e-newsletters are great tools for marketing to prospects and current customers and building and maintaining relationships, but they sure seem to be a lot of work.

This is not the point where I assuage your late-night fears. This is the point where I say, "Um, yeah. E-newsletters sure are a lot of work."

And it's not just the month-to-month production of the e-newsletter I'm talking about--it's all of the organizational stuff you'll have to set up to get it off the ground. The e-newsletter is a complex animal. Who's gonna write this thing? Edit it? Design it? Manage and segment the data? Ensure deliverability? And who will figure all that out? You? You.

Instead of researching best practices and philosophies for e-newsletters, instead of coralling writers from your staff (or locating freelancers, or, heaven forfend, writing it yourself), and instead of chewing your fingernails down to nubs thinking about deliverability and data management, you can turn to someone who already knows how to do this.

And then you can go golfing. (Or work on all that other stuff you're so busy doing.)

12 Reasons to Outsource Your E-Newsletter (the rest are to come, friends, over the next several weeks):

1. Because You're So Flippin' Busy, and it's tough to get such a complicated project off the ground.

10.

11.

12.

July 5, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email service, email services, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What Does Fireworks + Iowa + eMarketing Equal?

Posted on July 01, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

My holiday weekend, of course!

I'm going to Iowa to visit some friends, where there will inevitably be fireworks, and, in my spare time, I'm totally going to do the thing that I promised you last week that I would do this week: Begin a series on e-newsletters and outsourcing, so, starting on Tuesday, there'll be loads of great new information for you to soak up, bask in, whatever.

First reason to outsource your newsletter, just to whet your appetite for knowledge (opinion): Because You're So Flippin' Busy.

July 1, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Summit to Talk About

Posted on June 30, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Bright and early I arose this morning to attend Exact Target's emarketing summit, and what a summit it was!

Actually, there was a lot of great information in the form of some really interesting case studies about the benefits of integrating the electronic portion of your campaign with other tried-and-true traditional methods, and also about database and list management. Segmentation is the key, people! Segment! Segment!

One of those really great case studies, of course, was BeTuitive's (mimes patting self on back).

Anyway, ET is, as they say, "Takin' it to the streets!" And coming to a city near you.

June 30, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, mass email, newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

How to Be Excellent

Posted on June 28, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

For those of you who are in Chicago, on Thursday you should cancel all of your meetings and engagements and head to the eMarketing Excellence Summit. It's sponsored by Exact Target and features one Todd Smart (BeTuitive Marketing's president extraordinaire) as a speaker.

June 28, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I'm Pretty Sure Philip K. Dick Winked at Me

Posted on June 27, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

So on Wednesday when I went to the Next Music Fest, I picked up the exhibition catalog for NextFest, which meant I had a couple of days to pore it over and amp up my expectations.

Bottom line: Nothing is as cool as my imagination (that was some good marketing material), but there was still some awfully cool stuff there.

Unfortunately for you, I am forgetful. So there are no photographs, and you'll have to rely on my word-pictures.

My hands-down favorite was the Philip K. Dick robot (sculpture pictured), which (or maybe who?) was truly, awe-inspiringly creepy and amazing. Groups of ten people were ushered into an approximate duplication of his living room, where Phil sat on the couch. He looked around at all of us, made eye contact (seriously, I'm pretty sure he winked at me), and answered our questions. He was malfunctioning a tad, so it was rather like consulting the Oracle at Delphi must have been.

Sample question: "What do you think of the uncanny valley?"

Answer: "Thinking about my dead sister makes me angry."

Hmmmm.

And, this was my favorite overheard snippet of conversation: While oohing and aahing over Baba Ghanoush and Tahini (the cat and his clone), I heard a little boy who was about seven years old say, "Are they robots?"

Again, hmmmm.

The future is an interesting place.

June 27, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What Next?

Posted on June 23, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I've been awfully busy this week (hence the dearth of posts), both in and out of work.

Last night I went to "Next Music," the event sponsored by Wired NextFest and curated by Jeff Tweedy. Not only do I heart robots, but also Joanna Newsom.

So I'm going to NextFest over the weekend, and I'll tell you all about it on Monday.

Also, I've got a series idea tumbling around in my brain. Expect it to begin next week. The working title right now is "Outsourcing Your E-Communications: 12 Reasons Why It Rules." That may change.

June 23, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email tracking, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Everything Old Is New Again

Posted on June 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

BeTuitive's fearless leader, Todd Smart, says:

Here's my goal as a leader: If I were beamed into outer space for six months, I would come back and see that my team would be working better than it was when I left.

There are four tactics that you can use to accomplish such a feat:

Be a healthy, open communicator
Hire solution-focused and career-oriented employees
Develop great transparent and measurable systems
Create a continuous-learning environment

Read the details here.

June 20, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

The State of Your Body, the State of Your Mind

Posted on June 17, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I contend that my yoga ball chair increases my productivity because it doesn't let me slouch (and because I can bounce on it.)

Also, I contend that the set-up of our current office also contributes to my productivity because I'm in the midst of a bunch of other people who are writing and talking and having ideas and asking questions.

Now Bert Webb has a theory about your central nervous system being the key to productivity. I'll jump on that bandwagon.

Also, an article about Malcolm Gladwell's (author of Blink and The Tipping Point) similar habits to jumpstart his own productivity.

June 17, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

What do you mean by traditional, exactly?

Posted on June 16, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Doesn't traditional marketing make you think in black-and-white television cliches? Just thinking about his, I suddenly find myself craving apple pie that was baked by a smiling woman in a flowered house dress. (Maybe that only happens to me.)

The times, they are a-changing, as Chris Baggott points out. And most people understand that and have incorporated internet marketing into their more traditional marketing attempts. As Chris says:

With Email Marketing, we are using our clickstream and customer preference data to nurture our prospect until they become a customer and then leverage email to build on that relationship with the overall goal of high lifetime value…..

I say there's nothing quite so traditional as providing customers and prospects with value; it's just the medium that has changed.

June 16, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

A hearty and heartfelt congratulations

Posted on June 14, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

The MarketingSherpa votes are in. I see some of my favorites in the winners and honorable mention spots...

June 14, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, I Gotta Take This Call

Posted on June 13, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Oh, that controversial Peter Davidson over at my brother blog, BeConnected! He's always trying to stir things up. This is a hideous, hideous idea, this Verbal Communication Tip he relayed (to avoid talkie co-workers by faking a cell phone conversation).

Don't lie to your co-workers, people! That's just mean, and it encourages other bad communication habits. If you're too busy to chat, just say that.

And now, thanks to this article, I'm just going to assume that all of those irritating monologues I'm forced to eavesdrop on while riding the train home are totally fake--part of some new technologically-spurred mating dance, or an attempt not to look alone and pathetic.

And then I shall don my headphones and retreat into my own favored method of human contact avoidance.

June 13, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

My Lack of Personal Development

Posted on June 09, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Okay, you know I'm an overachiever. I loves me a challenge. I'm always trying to be the best me I can be. So what did I do?

I tried Steve Pavlina's 30-day challenge, and this is the result: It drove me partially insane. My goal was a modest one--I'm a creative writer when I'm not sitting on my yoga ball chair at BeTuitive, so I was going to write every day, no matter what--500 words at least.

That seems easy, right? As someone who writes a lot, and who is at the beginning of a project, 500 words can fly out of my fingertips within twenty minutes. Of course, on an off-day that same 500 words can take an hour and half.

Right around Day Seven, I began to unravel at the edges, just a little bit, and I was starting to dread (yes, dread!) my formerly happy alone-time for writing (which I did practically every day anyway, pre-challenge). Because I had to do it.

Day Fourteen I fell off the wagon. Rather than beating myself up about it, I doubled my efforts on Day Fifteen and wrote 1000 words. Effortlessly. Could I have needed that break?

By Day Twenty-Five, when a friend was visiting and I realized that I was actually considering not hanging out with him for the rest of the day because I knew I wouldn't be able to get to my 500 words (I had put off writing that morning), I knew that this particular form of self-discipline was not for me.

I went out with my friend, and I didn't write for three days afterward either. And then I wrote for four days in a row. And then I didn't write for a full week (something I haven't done in a long time.)

Needless to say, I totally failed the challenge. Here's the deal, though. While I may not have physically been moving my fingers across the keyboard, I have been thinking about my project, and where it's going.

So, many thanks to Steve Pavlina, who taught me, indirectly, about the way I work, and the best way to go about it.

(Here's what I learned, as it would appear curled up in a fortune cookie: Structure is necessary, but the structure shouldn't constrict, or that which is being structured suffers.)

And here's my ongoing goal: to write at least 500 words on the days that I feel like writing. And to take a break from it at least once a week.

June 9, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leadership and Motivation: Learning the Fine Art of Getting Workers To Do Something Well Because They Want To

Posted on June 07, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

By Susan E. Fisher

Book Review: “100 Ways To Motivate Others: How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane Results Without Driving People Crazy” by Steve Chandler and Scott Richardson

“100 Ways To Motivate Others: How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane
Results Without Driving People Crazy” pulls together years of advice gathered by leadership coach Steve Chandler and attorney Scott Richardson. It’s an easy-to-read guide that takes a clear-headed look at a variety of difficult-to-manage situations, anecdotes that illustrate the points made and actionable steps that walk the reader calmly toward improved employee relations.

With its smorgasbord approach to advice-giving, there’s likely to be at least a handful of lessons for any reader who cares about motivating others. Here are three that were particularly helpful to me:

“You can’t motivate someone who can’t hear you.” And, the corollary: “in order for someone to hear you, she must first be heard.”
“Give up being right….A really strong, motivational leader who is admired and respected is one who does not have to be right about anything. Ever.”
“Keep your people thinking friendly customer thoughts…In our zeal to bond with the people who report to us, we all too often commiserate and sympathize with their horror stories about how hard it is to please customers…”

“100 Ways” should be useful for managers struggling with personnel issues, executives who want to build an upbeat environment that inspires workers to do their best, and ambitious professionals who simply want to get along with colleagues.

The 224-page hardcover is in the vein of other feel-good, pop psychology/self help/business books, including Chandler’s previous works,“100 Ways To Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever” and “Reinventing Yourself: How to Become the Person You've Always Wanted to Be.”

In an attempt to cut the complex art and science of management to the chase, some of the writing smacks of the saccharine oversimplifications of corny “inspirational” Successory posters. Chapter titles include “Focus Like a Camera,” “Don’t Forget to Breathe” and “Make it Happen Today.” There are so many suggestions that the instructions could apply to almost any another endeavor. (Read those titles as if they belong in a manual on childbirth, and you’ll see what I mean.) By covering all the bases, there is a danger that you actually say nothing.

Fortunately, the authors are self-aware and pretty candid about the limitations of their broad reach. And, despite the simplifications, their advice isn’t for simpletons. In the introduction, the authors write “Grab a handful of these 100 tried and proven ways to motivate others and use them. Try them out. See what you get. Examine your results. That’s what will get you what you really want: motivated people.”

There is a common thread that comes back to the heart of Chandler’s and Richardson’s philosophy. In many ways, learning to motivate people simply comes back to figuring out what makes them tick. Some people are self-motivated “owners.” Others are “victims.” The authors write: “Owners own their own morale. They own their response to any situation. (Victims blame the situation.)” As one of my best friend’s mom back home in Iowa used to say: there are “doers” and there are “stew-ers.”

To motivate the owners (the doers), simply appreciate them, the authors suggest. To motivate the victims (the stew-ers), the book says, empathize with their feelings and show them another view that will yield better results. I like the sentiment, but Chandler and Richardson do punt a bit on this point. I closed the book feeling like the best way to handle the “victims” would be to shuttle them off to a “take ownership” workshop run by Chandler.

In the final analysis, the book makes good, albeit light, reading for any concerned leader. It’s suitable for that next bumpy business plane trip or long commuter ride. Although it won’t tax your brain, it serves some solid fare for thought that comes from the authors’ considerable experience. As President and General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

June 7, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e zine, email service, ezine, mass email, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Best Day of the Week to Send Your E-Communications

Posted on June 06, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Is Tuesday. Hands down. Don't ask me any questions about it--that's just the best day to do it. Okay? Got it?

So...everybody out there, send out your emails out on Tuesday. And then I'll send mine out on Thursday, once everyone has recovered from having that much mail in their inbox.

Skip's reasoning makes absolute sense, but I really think testing is the key to finding the best day for you. Mix it up, see what happens.

June 6, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, creating company newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Friday, Folks: Let's Get Off-Topic

Posted on June 03, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

A stodgy old company blog? Not this one, nosiree.

On McSweeney's Internet Tendency, they do Friday lists, and today's made me giggle hysterically for a good long time. Call me childish, if you must, but I loved "Fish Names That Sound Like Unfortunate 7th-Graders" by Jeanne P. Fratello.

My three favorites:

Bleeding Shiner

Bigmouth Sleeper

Chub

Go to the whole list.

Back to marketing on Monday, I promise.

June 3, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

You Know You're a Workaholic If...

Posted on June 02, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Basically, if you're reading this blog, I'm pretty sure you're a workaholic. I mean, look at you, actively seeking out more information on marketing, you workaholic, you.

In case you're not sure, though--or in case you want to see the degree to which you're a workaholic-- here's a test you can take (found via Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants) that's from WSJ's Career Journal site.

I scored a 98. That means I'm teetering on the edge, apparently. You?

June 2, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, ezine marketing, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Disadvantages of Saying "Yes"

Posted on June 01, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I just read an article by Kathleen Tomes about the advantages of working with "yes"-people. (Those are the people who try to find a way to get things done rather than just cutting off a project or request, like the "no"-people do.)

Most of the time when people ask me to do something, even if it seems impossible, I'll tell them that I'll try to find a way to get them what they want. I guess that makes me a "yes"-person.

The problem with being a "yes"-person is that sometimes things really can't be done. And sometimes I'm just not the right person for the job. Being a "yes"-person can lead to coming in with lower-than-expected results for those people you told yes. It can even lead to frustration and resentment.

While I agree that it sure is nice to work with people who tell you they can do the things you want them to, I'd propose that there is a third category, made up of "maybe"-people that is actually the desirable kind of person to be (and to work with).

These "maybe"-people still embody all of the good characteristics of the "yes"-person (helpful, eager, willing to learn), but also know their limitations. No one should say yes to everything. And I would rather have someone tell me no because they can't do it, and then find someone who can tell me yes, because they actually can.

June 1, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Follow, the Leader

Posted on May 31, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

We're all enlightened. We all know being a quality leader's got nothing to do with telling people what to do. It's about creating a vision that others are excited to get behind.

And what about being a follower? Now there's a dirty word. Nobody wants to be a weak, pathetic, spineless follower when they could be a creative, exciting visionary of a leader.

But I would go so far as to say that to be a good leader, you must, at heart, be a good follower.

The reason? Leaders aren't infallible. Sometimes it's necessary to step back and listen to what the followers are saying; in many cases they're a lot closer to the situation and know in a very real way the consequences of whatever decision that is made.

There's nothing weak, pathetic, or spineless about that.

May 31, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

To Manage or To Lead?

Posted on May 27, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

To Lead, mais oui!

But, as it turns out there are lots of micromanagers out there--according to NPR's Morning Edition, nearly 3/4 of Americans are being micromanaged. Yikes.

Listen all about it.

May 27, 2005 in bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, email marketing solution, email newsletter, email service, email services, email tracking, ezine marketing, mass email, newsletter, newsletter design, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nobody Likes a Butt-Kisser

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Maybe you're the leader of your team, or maybe you're just really self-motivated and could say you're the leader of yourself. Maybe you're Vice President of Something Really Important. Maybe you're a lowly bottom-of-the-totem-pole-type. Chances are, unless you're the owner of a company, you've got someone around the office who is your boss.

How do you interact with that person? Are you a butt-kisser? A spy? A yes-man/woman? Do you get all tongue-tied and stupid when they're around?

Here's something I found (from CNN, via ChicWIT), in which Liz Ryan gives you the scoop: what to do and what not to do to look better to your boss. Hint: stop with the insincere compliments; give him/her substance and quality instead.

May 25, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Am I Enabling Your Time-Wasting?

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Heaven forfend! Not one precious second of your workday should be spent in pursuit of anything other than work--good work, better work, the best work, thereby allowing you to be the best you you can be.

Please sense the irony with which the above paragraph is riddled.

While I agree with Dr. T here about many of his ideas for the elimination of wasting time, and his argument for how time-wasting can affect the waster, I would also contend that time-wasting is an essential part of every worker's day.

During activities like:

10. Allowing conferences and discussions to wander

you might run across something quite by accident that gives you that a-ha!-type moment that allows you to become a veritable machine of efficiency.

Because it's your own thought that allows you to be more efficient, that thought shouldn't be curtailed, but rather explored. (Within reason.)

May 24, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen Up, Dummies

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

If you haven't run right out to purchase "Syndicating Web Sites with Rss Feeds for Dummies," it's probably because you didn't know that BeTuitive is quoted in the first chapter, from our article, "Blogs: What Are They Good For?"

May 20, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Seventh Time's the Charm

Posted on May 19, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

On the "don't give up" tip, here's an interesting theory:

...it takes, on average, 7 contacts between a buyer and seller before the buyer feels comfortable enough to do business with the seller. Therefore the marketer should try to establish 7 points of contact (emails, direct mail, face-to-face appointments, etc) within a specified time period in order to further the sale. (from Jay Lipe)

I like it, but I think the question isn't necessarily "is there a magic number?" Instead, I think it's what kind of contacts are those? How do you find and create the right mix of meeting someone face-to-face, providing them with useful information through emails, webinars, or newsletters?

May 19, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

I Want Everything to Be Beautiful

Posted on May 17, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Including e-newsletters. Chances are you do, too. (Let me qualify that: not all art should be beautiful, and I understand the benefit of ugly things, but when it comes to design...well, I think it should be pretty.)

Interesting article in Icon about design as art:

We seek retinal pleasure, things to run our eyes over, colours, lines, textures and shapes to explore and inhabit, and design has no hesitation in supplying these experiences. Design is becoming more elaborately layered, more spectacular, more pervasive in our lives. Design, rather than art, is foremost now in embodying the visual spirit of the age. Millions get by without going anywhere near an art gallery, but everyone is touched in some way by design.

Found via Tom Peters(!) Wire Service.

May 17, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blogging Bold or Blogging Careful?

Posted on May 16, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

So "blog" is short for web log. When you think of a log, what do you think? Personally, I think of sea captains.

The blog is a tricky creature, because it seems so casual--you can write up a post and get it published in under a minute, and nobody cares too much about grammar. It's a loose medium, and that makes it easy to forget that consequences can arise from what might seem to be flippant remarks.

Ephraim Schwartz spoke to some law firms and attorneys to "get the skinny on where your life as an employee stops and your life as a private citizen begins, according to the law." Find out what they said here.

May 16, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spam Scoring: It's Like Golf

Posted on May 13, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

You want a low score. B2B offers these tips to keep your spam score down. Most of it is common sense (keep those lists clean, people, and don't say the word "free"). But it's good to review every now and again.

One tip:

Watch your image-to-text ratio. Spammers, hoping to avoid filters, converted their messages to a single image, Popov said. Eventually the filters caught on to this tactic, assigning multiple points for a message that contains a single image. Spam Assassin, a popular spam filter, will assign four points to such a message. (A score of five is enough to label something spam.) Keep image size low and make sure any image-heavy message has plenty of text to balance it out.

The rest of the tips.

May 13, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, online newsletter, opt-in email | Permalink | Comments (1)

Marketing: Contagious and Magnetic

Posted on May 12, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

As marketers, we want our work to catch on--we love for our campaigns to be contagious. But it's something that seems to happen only once in a little while. What is it that catapults a campaign beyond being merely interesting and causes people to pass it along to their friends and co-workers? Could it be...magnetism?

(Via Mind Hacks):

The researchers [physicists Quentin Michard and Jean-Philippe Bouchard] noted similarities in the way magnetic fields influence the spin of electrons in an atom. One atom can influence the next, and with enough effect, the direction of spin in all the atoms can suddenly align.

Modelling each atom as a person allowed the creation of a mathematical model that can accurately predict how, like atoms, human behaviour can suddenly align.

And, if you're interested in seeing what it is, exactly, that has spread successfully before, check out this review of "Contagious Media," an exhibit of just that, in the NYTimes. It lists the Web sites in the show so you can create your own artsy experience.

May 12, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, ezine marketing, mass email, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter sample, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let Everyone in on the Fun

Posted on May 11, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Am I still blathering on about participation a full day later? Yup. I'll stop tomorrow, promise.

Tim Manners talks about American Idol (which I'll cop to occasionally watching--go Baby V!--but not participating in by voting, hypocrite that I am) and how, for viewers, the voting isn't so much the big deal. Manners suggests that might be because we all know the script already; the one who is supposed to win will win because the judges are influencing the viewers in that direction.

Manners tells us to "let our consumers in on the fun." By which he means, allow them a real voice, I presume.

And I wonder about participation in tools like surveys (and, yes, blogs) for businesses. Indeed, perhaps I was too cynical yesterday. Maybe we should work on making things even more interactive and allowing customers to see the results of their input.

I don't mean just allowing customers to see how others voted on the survey, but allowing them to see their influence. Nobody's going to participate if they think it doesn't matter one way or another if they do.

May 11, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Participation: It's the Backbone of Society

Posted on May 10, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

When I ask a question, I want dozens of answers, hundreds even. Heck, I want thousands of answers. I want people raising their hands and shouting, "Oo! Ooo! Pick me! I know the answer!" like a bunch of eager, overachieving first-graders with crushes on the teacher.

Sometimes, though, it seems like I'm asking questions of a bunch of college freshmen at an eight o'clock general education class on a Friday morning; those who have come to class are half-asleep, hungover, or just plain not responsive.

Let's say the question is asked via a survey embedded in a newsletter. It seems to me there are two ways to get that eager first-grader type of response:

1. Ask a really simple question, and give them lots of in-between answers so they don't have to get too specific. If you ask "How do you do this?", you'll get much less response than you will if you ask "Do you do this?"

But what if you really want to know "How do you do this?" Then...

2. Give them stuff. Promise that, if they answer, you will give them stuff they really want.

So, tell me, friends: Do you think that's too cynical?

The possible answers to that question are:

A. yes

B. no

C. sort of

(or D. an elaborate response telling me what you really think)

May 10, 2005 in bulk email marketing, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, direct email marketing, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (2)

Six Ways to Make MPM More Than Just a Bunch of Initials

Posted on May 09, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

MPM. What does it mean?

A. Moody, Parading Monkeys

B. Maximum Permitted Mileage

C. Multi-Processing Modules

D. Marketing Performance Measurement

Trick question, of course, MPM means all of those things and many, many more. But today, as marketers, the one that we care about it is answer D.

BeTuitive's own president, Todd Smart, ranted in this month's newsletter on metrics and measurement and performance and how it applies to those of us in the marketing game.

Also, check out the views of B2B Lead Generation Blog's Brian Carroll here.

May 9, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, creating company newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lies, Darned Lies and E-Marketing

Posted on May 06, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Doubtlessly, you'll recall I composed my column for this month's BeTuitive newsletter while my IQ was a full ten points higher than usual (because my email was down so I wasn't able to deaden my brain cells by constantly clicking back and forth).

As good old Homer Simpson says: "People can come up with statistics to prove anything; 14 percent of people know that." In my column, I apply his wisdom to the world of e-marketing stats, particularly deliverability and open rates.

You can uncover the truth here.

May 6, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Book Review: “On Bullshit” Is True to Its Title

Posted on May 04, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Editor’s note from Susan E. Fisher: What ever you want to call it, “bullroar,” “ca-ca,” or “malarkey,” marketing is up to its collective knees in boastful, foolish talk intended to deceive.

E-newsletter designer Kat O’Connor is one soul that simply won’t put up with a lot of crap. So, as part of the BeTuitive book club assignment we asked Kat to read the popular, slim business book, “On Bullshit” by Harry G. Frankfurt.

The book, published this year by Princeton University Press, is an academic essay on "bullshitting." It points to the expansion of the practice in recent years and explores the implications of its spread (pun intended).

Reading Kat’s review, I see three lessons for the straight-shooting business person:

1. We should be aware of how the practice of bullshitting has expanded.
2. We should recognize bullshitting for what it is.
3. Not exactly lying can be worse than telling a falsehood.

Kat says,

A pocket book sized at 4x6 inches, consisting of a sum total of 67 pages, you’d expect “On Bullshit” to be a little light reading with perhaps a couple of salient points on the topic, without taking itself too seriously. Instead I found a book that was humorless, dull, and – believe it or not – pretentious. Yes, a book “On Bullshit” was itself a never-ending stream of the same, apparently crafted more to give a specific impression of the author than to discuss any significant points of the topic, with no detectable hint of irony.

His language, rather than being straightforward and accessible, was a dry, overly-intellectual, and academic discourse of the finer, hair-splitting definitions of bullshit. (I’m no slouch in the vocabulary department, and could on occasion even be accused of using too many big words myself, but I was reading with this book in one hand and a dictionary in another. Quick – use “pleonastic” in a sentence!)

I was looking forward to reading this book – how could bullshit fail to entertain? – but I was expecting a relatively no-nonsense discussion of a political and social phenomenon, not a linguistics lesson. His misdirection begins in the first paragraph, where he asserts that “one of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit,” yet any examination of the cultural significance of bullshit fails to materialize anywhere in the book.

He dissects the word “humbug” as an entry into parsing the character and quality of bullshit. The two words are not absolutely interchangeable, but he declares “humbug” as a more genteel version of “bullshit.” (I would tend to dispute this in general, since when someone calls, “Humbug!” I get more of a sense that the speaker himself is defensive and attempting to redirect/misdirect blame or responsibility from himself, while a speaker calling “Bullshit,” while perhaps having a vested interest in calling his subject out on the carpet, is also calling it like he truly sees it. That is, the true bullshitter in either situation is not the same person. But perhaps I’ve watched “A Christmas Carol” one too many times.)

He then states the obvious by proposing there is a continuum of misrepresentation and deceit, with humbug and bullshit falling somewhere above outright lying. Bullshit is akin to bluffing, in that the method of deceit does not necessarily rely on representing false facts or events as true ones, but misleads by attempting to disguise what exactly the speaker is up to.

He concludes that bullshit is an unconcern for truth, though with the pretense that such concern is still there: it may be either true or false, but nevertheless spoken with the intent to deceive. As opposed to lies, where the speaker presumes that a certain fact or statement is true, and then speaks deliberately to contradict that truth. He fails to address the idea that the most convincing lies are the ones that contain a kernel of truth.

On a scale of outrage, why does bullshit (true or not) get more of a pass than a lie crafted around a truth? He acknowledges only briefly the fact that our culture and attitudes tend to be more benign and tolerant toward bullshit than toward lying, but then leaves any scrutiny of the whys or wherefores behind this mind-set as “an exercise for the reader.”

In effect, “On Bullshit” was itself an exercise in pleonasm (did you look it up yet?): you could spare yourself the time-suck of wading through 67 pages by turning to the dictionary:

bullshit
Function: verb
intransitive senses
1 usually vulgar : to talk foolishly, boastfully, or idly
2 usually vulgar : to engage in a discursive discussion
transitive senses, usually vulgar : to talk nonsense to especially with the intention of deceiving or misleading

This book was shelved in the humor section of the bookstore, so it’s possible that it was intended to be taken, as a whole, as an amusing lark in the sense of “Hey look! I’m bullshitting on bullshit!” However, if the irony was there, it was buried under the sheer dead weight of its intellectual masturbation and the boredom it inspired.

May 4, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e zine, email service, ezine, mass email, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (3)

New Blog Alert

Posted on May 03, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Check out Hilary Marsh's new blog, Online Content Thoughts and Ideas. As her tagline says, it concentrates on:

Web content strategy, content management, writing, email, intranets, news, how online connects with offline, how organizations can make the most of online content, and more

And more! As if all that other stuff weren't enough.

Her most recent post is about onscreen readability and design.

May 3, 2005 in bulk email marketing, company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Operating under a full IQ

Posted on April 28, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Today has been an incredibly frustrating day for me (and it's only mid-afternoon.) Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have not had access to email except in unpredictable five-minute spurts.

Just typing that sentence made my blood rise. It created a quivery panicky feeling in my tummy.

This afternoon, I'm working on my column for this month's newsletter (I'll post it here after it's published), and my normal modus operandi is to write a bit, get stuck, check my email, read a few blog posts, go back to the column, write a bit, and so on and so forth.

But not today. No, today I am stuck with just sitting and writing. (And taking a break to blog when I get stuck.) Sitting and writing. Sitting and writing.

Of course, it's going to be my best column ever because the incessant email checking hasn't caused me to lose 10 IQ points today.

April 28, 2005 in Opt-in Email Marketing, bulk email marketing, company blog, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Make People Want to Read Your Stuff

Posted on April 21, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Two points today, that I shall stitch together loosely to form, if you will, a sort of mismatched pair of conjoined twins:

1. Happier is healthier, according to this Wired News article. And that old saw "laughter is the best medicine" turns out to be true, too.

2. According to the DoubleClick Q4 Email Trend Report, open rates have fallen again, to an average of 32.6%.

Why are the open rates falling? One reason is an overabundance of information. I get approximately eleventy billion newsletters a day--I like to see what everyone else is doing--and I open and glance at a lot of them. But there are some that I read all the time.

What differentiates those that I read from those that I don't? Two things: they consistently give me good information, or they are in some way amusing (contain lively language, odd points of view, or are downright funny). Or both. If they do both, I open that sucker every time it lands in my inbox.

If you inject your communication with amusing tidbits, you will make a more lasting impression. Plus, you will lower the blood pressure of everyone on your list. And they will thank you by opening your communication again the next time.

April 21, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (2)

Rights for Bloggers

Posted on April 19, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I've been thinking about the NYTimes article about bloggers being fired for (personal) blogging. (Of course we all knew about The Queen of Sky and Troutgirl.)

In personal blogs, people blog about their lives; for most people, work is a pretty big part of life. It's bound to come up every now and again.

So what's the solution for the blogger? Blog anonymously? That doesn't seem quite right...

So what of the company, then? Forced acceptance of the blogosphere? Yeah...that might not work either.

Baby steps, maybe. Employees will blog. The person sitting in the next office may even be blogging right now. And there will be even more employees blogging as time passes.

Why not set up a company blog that can give voice and personality to your company's opinions and policies and practices? If you don't feel comfortable having an employee act as a company representative (or you don't want to add to employees' already-full plates), outsource it to someone else who you feel confident will follow your guidelines.

Why not open up the discussion instead of closing it down?

April 19, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Wrong Side of the Bed

Posted on April 18, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Everybody has those days when nothing goes quite right. Just this morning I spilled my entire mug of Earl Gray tea on the train. Fortunately, the fellow standing next to me was having a better day and managed to move his backpack out of the way before the rushing stream of tea reached him.

Why did I spill my tea? Because I was changing the batteries in my old-fashioned CD player (yes, I know I wouldn't have had this problem if I would just upgrade to an iPod) while leaning against the side of the train and hugging my travel mug between my feet. The train stopped suddenly. It was bound to happen.

What could have prevented this? A little organization. I knew my batteries were dead. I should have changed them at home. Heck, I could have even done it the night before. And, if I hadn't hit snooze that extra time, I could have spent some more time over breakfast and wouldn't have even needed to bring along my portable tea.

If only I had run into this helpful list yesterday...

April 18, 2005 in bulk email marketing, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (1)

Smart People Love Learning

Posted on April 15, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

You're nuts for self-improvement. You want to be the best you you can be. Now if only the company you work for recognized the value in your relentless quest to continually expand your brain-power.

BeTuitive's president, Todd Smart, loooves learning. He wants us to create new wrinkles on our cerebral cortexes every single day. He loves learning so much he ranted about it in this month's newsletter.

And what do you do with all that internal company knowledge once you've fully embraced the way of continuous learning? How do you manage all that knowledge? CMO Magazine takes a look at KM systems.

April 15, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter template, nurturing relationships, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feedback: Brain Food for Growing Companies

Posted on April 14, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

In an ideal world, we all constantly strive to better ourselves.

In an ideal world, we want to know what others think about our processes and policies and procedures and just us in general, because to know what others think (good or bad) can provide us with information we can use to get better.

(Of course, it goes without saying that we shouldn't rely on others entirely to tell us how we're doing. Deep down, we all know how we're doing. It's just helpful to get others' perspectives.)

My article in this month's newsletter is all about the different ways to amass feedback, and how you can use that feedback in a productive way. (Hint: you can't just ignore the negative stuff.)

April 14, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e mail newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, nurturing relationships, online newsletter, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Patience or Procrastination?

Posted on April 13, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Gosh, I like this post by Steve Pavlina. Here's an excerpt:

If this sounds like a recipe for procrastination [patience], it is. Procrastination only becomes a problem when you put off working on what’s truly important to you and get sucked into wasting time. But it’s a valid tool when used to incubate a problem to make it easier and more efficient to solve.

One of the things that I do as a recovering procrastinator (in order to avoid slipping back into being a practicing procrastinator) is to do things immediately. Pronto. Stat. With extreme efficiency. I make schedules, and I stick to them.

But, as Steve points out, sometimes just letting time pass solves certain problems. The challenge is to identify when you're being patient, and when you're avoiding, I suppose.

And I guess I could always use a little more patience. Yeah, yeah. Just a little patience.

April 13, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Method Behind the Madness

Posted on April 08, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I don't know about you, but I spend most of my spare time thinking about the psychology behind marketing.

All right, maybe I'm being a teensy bit facetious, but I do like knowing the why behind the what.

And I like Chris Baggott's from-line philosophy when it comes to email marketing. He's always contended that using a person's name instead of a company's name will yield better results, and now, over at his Email Best Practices blog, he's got the evolutionary psychology research study to prove it:

We are hardwired to pay attention to those that are familiar.

Humans unconsciously feel that people we see frequently are our friends (which explains celebrity endorsements).

[link]

April 8, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mind Your Commas: Book Offers Proper Grammar With a (Correctly Used) Dash of Humor

Posted on April 07, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Review by Susan E. Fisher

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation” by Lynne Truss is a grammar. It discusses in great, but not excruciating, detail the proper use of commas, semicolons, apostrophes, dashes and those other particular, little companions of the English language. If these facts alone are not enough for you to stop reading, do read on. You may be the ideal candidate to become a fan of this witty, best-selling book.

Here are three quick takeaways:

1. “Its” vs. “it’s.” Know your apostrophes of omission.

Do you know the difference between “it’s” and “its”? (Answer: The punctuation mark in “it’s” is the apostrophe of omission. You use the apostrophe to replace the “i.” “It’s” means “it is.”)

2. Be consistent with commas in a series.

Which sentence has the correct punctuation?
• The colours of the Union Jack are red, white, and blue.
• The colours of the Union Jack are red, white and blue.
The answer will vary depending on your adopted model of punctuation. The most important thing is to be consistent. Inconsistencies suggest you don’t know what you are doing.

3. Be particularly sensitive with electronic communications.

The dangers of disregarding or abusing grammar are particularly great in the Internet age. With the ready combination of word processing software, email and the Web at our fingertips, everyone has become an author. This is one of Truss’ insights. Top managers, including CEOs, who once were shielded by their own lack of grammatical know-how by in-house editors, PR managers and other handlers, are now free to dash off ill-conceived messages to customers and business partners at lightning speed.

The blogging environment is even worse for sticklers, a label Truss gives the lovers of language who both lovingly and doggedly stick by the rules. The bulk of bloggers are cavalier with language, showing little regard for the fine points of grammar, punctuation or even spelling. Once out on the wild, untamed Web, ill-constructed sentences and typos can have the shelf life of Twinkies; they may never completely disappear.

A CEO with an Ivy League pedigree can come off like a dimwit. A CEO, who recently wrote our company, thanked us for the “priveledge” of reading our newsletter. One of our competitors blasted this message to a potential customer: “For more inforamtion on our e-newsletter services, please see….” (Just in case you missed it, “priveledge” should be “privilege” and “inforamtion” should be “information.”)

The Impact of Errors

Do you realize the impact you are making when you introduce errors in your electronic messages? Do you even realize the errors you make? Of course, there’s a difference between simply slipping up with a typo and making a grammatical error out of ignorance. Those typos can be forgiven, but ignorance is unacceptable.

Still, the prospect of reading a grammar book may sound as appealing as drinking cod liver oil. It’s something we know is good for us but seems a bit old fashioned, and we fear it may leave a bad taste in the mouth. Truss serves grammar to us with a spoon full of sugar (much like that upright symbol of British civility, Mary Poppins.) "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" opens with a title that is a reference to a joke and keeps you amused along the tidy, 204-page way.

(You see, there's this gun-totting panda that enters a bar and "eats, shoots and leaves." The bear, it turns out, is merely fulfilling his destiny as defined by a punctuation-challenged wildlife guide. The guide reads: "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.")

Truss Makes It Fun

Get it? Okay. If that joke does not quite elicit a hardy belly laugh, hang on for a few giggles. Truss manages a mean feat, something your third or fourth or fifth or sixth grade teacher may have failed to accomplish: She makes learning about grammar actually fun. Fortunately for us Yankees, Truss is British. She has that dry wit we've come to love in those clever British sitcoms broadcast on PBS.

By the way, nothing is Americanized in the American-version of the book. We get it in full “colour” without any superimposed U.S. laugh track in the edition by Penguin Group (USA). In the latest edition, Truss offers us a little update, explaining how she is struck by her own heady success with the book. Much to her surprise and delight, “Eats” was the “runaway No. 1 British bestseller,” and it quickly climbed the U.S. bestseller charts.

Don't mistake Truss' humor for a lack of seriousness. The writer is passionate about her subject. She confesses a desire to join the militant wing of the Apostrophe Protection Society and blasts the careless individuals who ignore the gods of grammar. She writes, “No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing, ‘Good food at it’s best,’ you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.”

Caring About Grammar

More important than tickling our funny bone about seemingly obscure points, Truss makes us truly care about grammar. Mispunctuation can lead to dangerous misunderstanding. Consider the impact of a misplaced comma in this example cited by Truss: “A woman, without her man, is nothing” versus “A woman, without her, man is nothing.” See the difference one swift keystroke can make?

As a child of the free-wheeling, open-classroom 1970s, I must confess to never having had a formal lesson in such niceties as proper placement of the semicolon. Actually, I don’t recall cracking open a grammar book until a rather stern editor at my first newspaper job handed me a basic text. It was more than a hint; it was a lifeline.

When is the last time you had a grammar lesson? Perhaps it’s time to go back to school on this important subject, for your own sake and for the sake of your business. You can start by cracking open “Eats, Shoots & Leaves.” At the very least, it may crack you up. At best, it may save you a client or two.

Gaudere's Law: any post made to point out a spelling or grammar error will invariably contain a spelling or grammar error.

April 7, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e zine, email service, ezine, mass email, online newsletter, opt-in email, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (3)

Something to Look Forward to

Posted on April 07, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I mentioned my excitement about BeTuitive's new book club before. Occasionally, I'll be posting a review on behalf of one of my co-workers.

This afternoon I'll be posting Susan Fisher's review of that amusingly snarky and informative bestseller, "Eats, Shoots & Leaves."

April 7, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, e mail newsletter, e newsletter, electronic newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brain Food for the Time Hungry

Posted on March 29, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

If you don't keep your brain nimble, it turns to jelly. Just like that. Jelly.

Check out Peter's post today over on my brother blog, BeConnected.

He talks about an issue near and dear to my heart--continuous learning, and he's got a nifty tool for those of us who want to keep on learning, but don't have the time to read all the books that are out there that could help us out: Executive Book Summaries.

They condense the information and give you a quick rundown of what you need to know. In the world of often-dry business books, sometimes a summary is all you need.

March 29, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, direct email marketing, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, newsletter service, newsletter template, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It's Not Just About Content

Posted on March 25, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I'm more of a word-centric person, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten that design is ever-so-important in e-newsletter creation.

Kat, my designer colleague, pointed me toward Identifont, which does exactly what you think it does: that's right--it helps you identify fonts.

A useful little tool if you're looking to modify a previous designer's work. And for other stuff, I'm sure, but I'll let the designers out there tell me what.

March 25, 2005 in company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter sample | Permalink | Comments (0)

Too Much Information

Posted on March 23, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

Susan was a busy bee last month when it came to cranking out quality articles for our newsletter (sign up here.)

I talk about dealing with info overload every once in a while (like here, and here, and here), but Susan's article really brings it all together and offers five action steps for overcoming info overload and taking charge of your electronic communications.

Here's a taste:

Evaluate your effort and react accordingly. Ask the hard question: is anybody really interested in reading this? Be honest. Track the results. Tailor your messages in reaction to those reactions. Test and re-test how you send your messages.

Read it all here.

March 23, 2005 in company blog, company newsletter, create a newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, customer retention, e newsletter, electronic newsletter, email marketing campaign, email marketing solution, email newsletter, newsletter design, newsletter format, newsletter marketing, newsletter outsource solution, newsletter sample, newsletter service, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0)

So...Where's the File?

Posted on March 22, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.

I do this with enough frequency that it's bothersome: I write an email message with the sole purpose of transmitting an attachment to someone, and then I forget to add the attachment.

It's awkward enough when you realize it on your own and correct it right away, but when you get an email back that says, "You didn't attach anything, moron," then it can become downright embarrassing.

If you use Outlook, this macro, found at KC on Exchange and Outlook, might be your solution:

Here are the instructions

and the code.

March 22, 2005 in company blog,