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The Influentials: A Book Summary Review

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

This week the BeTuitive Publishing team takes a look at the Executive Book Summary of The Influentials by Ed Keller and Jon Berry:

Jeff:

The summary describes influential leaders in society who are swaying the consumer markets and the attitudes of their peers. Their value is even more relevant today with the ever expanding blogosphere, which the summary did not cover (most likely due to the publishing date of 2003). All of the messages described are still applicable to the boom of the interconnectivity we get today from the web. The “Developing an Influential Strategy” section is a must-read for a successful influential strategy with tips such as “Be Where the Information Is”, When Critics Come Knocking, Invite Them In”, and “Get Out Into the Community.”

Kevin:

This summary nailed the various qualities of Influentials.  It is important to remember that they are not the most educated, most wealthy, or experienced, but they all have a substantial thirst for information and speak about it within their social spheres.  Even though the summary covered every aspect of how they operate and how businesses should model their approach in respect to them, the summary did not quite come full circle.  The summary opened with, maintained, and concluded with diagnosing Influentials, but it did not end on a conclusive note.  A valuable read on the whole.

Kathy:

This summary describes a group of people it calls “The Influentials” with a fairly precise amount of detail. The Influentials are middle-aged, middle class, they read a lot, they don’t watch much television and they are activists. They are also smart shoppers. But who are they, exactly? Where is all of this information coming from? The summary never refers to any outside source or study that links these theories to concrete information. For all we know, it could be made up. I’m not saying that it is. And perhaps the book presents a more convincing argument. But for me, this summary may as well have been talking about an imaginary population.

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August 30, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Submit Submit Submit

Posted on August 20, 2007 by Kevin G.

A news source that I often link to, DMNews, is in the final stages of accepting submissions for an Email Marketing Guide.  If you have the chance, I would recommend taking a look at their site and see if there is anything you could submit.

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August 20, 2007 in award winning blog, award winning design, award winning magazine, award winning newsletter, Award winning publications, Brand enhancement, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, Business editorial, business magazine, Business Marketing, Business newsletter, Business publications, Business relationships, company blog, company magazine, company newsletter, company newsletter sample, Company newsletters, Company publication, Corporate Blogging | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

WikiReview

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

Actually, it's not really a wikireview, since you don't have the power to edit it.  But it is a review of Wikinomics, by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, "wiki" is a Hawaiian-language word for fast.

Jeff Sanchez

The Wikonomics summary was dry to say the least. It rambled on about the Internet providing an age of networking and unprecedented business collaborations for profitability in this new Net Gen era. I think everyone already understands that the Internet is changing the way businesses are run, creating an increased way of social networking and empowering the consumer. It didn’t strike much of a chord for me and I feel this networking era has been more of an organic process. We will continue to develop our collaborative habits in response to our continually changing needs.

Kevin Grant

I like how this summary introduces new possibilities of sharing information and ideas on a global business scale.  Being of the Generation Y demographic, I feel accustomed to information shared and utilized in doing research, solving problems and managing my daily life.  Having access to sites like Wikipedia is more a convenience than a breakthrough.  But I only approach my competence of sharing on a personal level.  This summary expands the use of sharing to bigger entities like the existence of ideagoras--groups of uniquely qualified individuals offering their expertise to solve big business problems.  The summary effectively communicates the imminent need for businesses to adopt a wikinomic approach to their business model.  Expect it to be the norm in the near future.

Kathryn Regina

Even though this book summary beats the word “collaboration” into the ground, it does offer a few concrete examples of the advantages of online collaboration for businesses. The most interesting to me was the “Ideagoras” section. It features an e-business venture called InnoCentive (launched by Eli Lilly), which allows large pharmaceutical companies to “tap the talents of a global, scientific community without having to employ everybody full time. The authors call these marketplaces ideagoras, much like the bustling agoras that sprang up in the heart of ancient Athens to facilitate politics and commerce.”

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August 17, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Keep Blogging with These Seven Steps

Posted on August 13, 2007 by Kevin G.

Sometimes we all feel like blogging, but we hit a road block.  Sometimes we want to write about a subject but we have a tough time solidifying a position.  Other times, we write a great blog and then are stumped as to what could be written next round.

I found some great tips on how to develop, manage and communicate your blogging topics.  In addition, Advice is also given on how to create and track your objectives.  Enjoy.

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August 13, 2007 in Blog Outsourcing, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, company blog, Corporate Blogging, publish, publish a journal, publish a rss, publish company, publish online, publish writing, publishing outsourcing, publishing solution, sample newsletter, self publish, Strategic Internet Marketing, Thought leadership newsletter, web publish, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Critiquing the Hand That Feeds Us, Part Deux

Posted on August 10, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

Magnum_opus Oh, Wendalyn Nichols, how the editorial team at BeTuitive loves thee! (She's the editor of Publications Management, which we're critiquing this week.)

Also, "Publications Management is the home of the Magnum Opus Awards, the leading awards program dedicated to custom publishing."  And we just won a bunch of them.  You can check out which ones here.

Kathryn Regina

I like this publication. The design makes it easy and pleasant to read, and the article headlines are creative. There’s a nice of blend of content—from custom publishing trends to writing tips to best business practices. The article that I liked the most was “Arranged marriages” because it managed to compare online dating to custom publication goals and measurement. 

Kevin Grant

The work/life balance article had some useful takeaways.  I always find my inbox cluttered from opening emails and not addressing it right then and there.  Opening and reopening is something I am guilty of.  The article concerning the appropriate use of a cliché was interesting.  Improper use of a cliché can lose your readers, your message, or your credibility. 

Vanessa Day

The article I found most interesting was the one about time management. Organizing your time properly is helpful in any stage of life, whether you’re still in school, or an experienced business associate. The article had some decent tips to get organized with tasks and projects, which I found helpful, since somehow I cannot find the time to study and attend class, and get all the other little things done. I also thought the article about clichés was intriguing, because often people make the mistake of slipping them into publications, which can divert attention from their intended points and goals. Clichés can be fun to add here and there, but don’t become too attached.

Emily DeMarco

Publications Management is a short, yet informative newsletter.  At only eight pages, it covers all major topics in custom publishing including articles on editorial, design, marketing issues.  I particularly enjoyed the article, “Make time to make time,” which discusses simple and logical ways to keep piles off your desk.  The tips were easy ways for even the busiest person to make strides in staying organized (and none of the suggestions included: Hire an intern to do it for you).  Overall, the design is not bad, the articles have value, and the side-bars contain quality information.

Jeff Sanchez

Publications Management is a small, to-go type of newsletter loaded with good information.  It is very clean and easy to follow.  Warm, soft colors give it a friendly vibe rather than the usual tight-collared feel of many industry expert publications.  The content covers every aspect of publication, and I like how it's geared toward everyone rather than, for example, the editor only finding the writing articles useful, or the the design articles only being useful to a designer.  You want to read it all and before you know it, you have.

As you can see, we like it.  If you want to subscribe, go here to do so.

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August 10, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Judge a book by its cover...

Posted on August 09, 2007 by Jeff Sanchez.

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We all do it...walking through a bookstore or browsing a website an attractive and enticing book/magazine cover always can draw us right in, no matter what the content may be. The blog Cover is now dedicated to the art of book cover design. Several recently released books are stacked up against each other based solely on their cover designs.

Take a gander to see if your favorite summer reads are in there and which books you would take a pass on. Other designers and industry professionals provide great two sense, also. Start judging.

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August 9, 2007 in award winning magazine, Award winning publications, Brand enhancement, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, create newsletter, creating newsletter, Custom email, Custom publication, Custom publisher, Custom publishing, Customer Intuition, customer magazine, customer retention, email marketing solution, email newsletter marketing, Email Newsletter Outsourcing, Email newsletter template, email services, how to publish a magazine, how to publish and promote online, how to publish online, how to write a newsletter, how to write and publish a paper, magazine design, magazine publishing, Marketing Communication, marketing magazine, marketing newsletter, Newsletter Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

6 blogging blunders

Posted on August 08, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

If you're a regular blogger you should check out this article on common blogging mistakes. Among the top mistakes are not providing enough links, writing huge blocks of text and disabling comments.

6 Blogging Blunders


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August 8, 2007 in award winning blog, award winning design, award winning magazine, award winning newsletter, Award winning publications, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, bulk email marketing, business credibility, Business editorial, business magazine, Business Marketing, Business newsletter, Business publications, Business relationships, company blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Critiquing the Hand that Awards Us

Posted on August 03, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

Apex07_2

Recently, we won some APEX awards: one for Best Newsletter Writing for The Sales Performance Journal (Miller Heiman), one for Best Magazine & Journal Design & Layout for The Sales Performance Journal Digest (Miller Heiman), and one for Best Web & Electronic Newsletter for Upside (SALO).

We like what they do, so we decided to take a look at their publication, Writing That Works, much the way we do on a weekly basis for Executive Book Summaries.  Here's our take on their print newsletter:


Kevin Grant

The first article was great on how to effectively direct web site visitors.  I liked how they addressed the idea of cutting through excess and getting to the main idea – being careful of using obscure document titles, avoiding jargon and titling links appropriately.  The article on conquering writers block, boredom, and burnout, however, didn't connect with me as well, even though there were some useful suggestions about what to do in the office.

Kathryn Regina

The most valuable article in this issue is (fittingly) the lead article—“Writing links that motivate and help speed visitors to their desired destinations.” The article describes a company website as a conversation “started by a busy visitor.” You’ll want that conversation to be clear and easy to follow for the reader. Make sure the link matches “what’s in visitors heads when they come to your site.” Also, use keywords and leave a “clear scent” that visitors can follow. A visitor won’t mind clicking 4 or 5 times if they feel confident that they know where they’re going.

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August 3, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, newsletter solutions, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Six Productivity Tips

Posted on August 02, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.

I love that Brazen Careerist. Really, I just love her title. But I think her article on productivity offers some helpful insights as well. If you want to get more done in less time--and who doesn't?--you should check it out. My favorite tip is "focus on outcome."

Six Productivity Tips to Put Time on Your Side

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August 2, 2007 in award winning blog, Blogs, build credibility, business credibility, Business editorial, business magazine, company blog, company newsletter, Corporate Blogging, corporate magazine, Corporate publications, create newsletter, Custom publisher, Custom publishing, E-Marketing, e-newsletter, e-zine, Email Marketing, email service, ezine, ezine marketing, grow relationships, how to publish online, magazine design, magazine outsourcing, marketing newsletter, newsletter design | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Murdoch and the Dow Jones

Posted on August 01, 2007 by Kevin G.

The news today nearly confirms Rupert Murdoch’s success in purchasing the Dow Jones.  I find this to be an alarming occurrence from Rupert’s track record of stressing labor relations and manipulating many international papers.

We’ll see what happens to the credibility of the Wall Street Journal and any changes made to the Dow Jones name.  News publishing has taken a darker turn.  Watch a clip below to speed yourself up on what has already happened.

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August 1, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack