Before you hit send on that next email, perhaps you should run down this list, just to be sure:
- Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #10)
- Since it’s going to a group, have I thought about who is on my list?
- Are they blind copied?
- Did every person on the list really and truly opt in? Not like sort of, but really ask for it?
- So that means that if I didn’t send it to them, they’d complain about not getting it?
- See #5. If they wouldn’t complain, take them off!
- That means, for example, that sending bulk email to a list of bloggers just cause they have blogs is not okay.
- Aside: the definition of permission marketing: Anticipated, personal and relevant messages delivered to people who actually want to get them. Nowhere does it say anything about you and your needs as a sender. Probably none of my business, but I’m just letting you know how I feel. (And how your prospects feel).
- Is the email from a real person? If it is, will hitting reply get a note back to that person? (if not, change it please).
- Have I corresponded with this person before?
- Really? They’ve written back? (if no, reconsider email).
- If it is a cold-call email, and I’m sure it’s welcome, and I’m sure it’s not spam, then don’t apologize. If I need to apologize, then yes, it’s spam, and I’ll get the brand-hurt I deserve.
- Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
- Could I do this note better with a phone call?
- Am I blind-ccing my boss? If so, what will happen if the recipient finds out?
- Is there anything in this email I don’t want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, hit delete).
- Is any portion of the email in all caps? (If so, consider changing it.)
- Is it in black type at a normal size?
- Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it).
- Have I included the line, “Please save the planet. Don’t print this email”? (If so, please delete the line and consider a job as a forest ranger or flight attendant).
- Could this email be shorter?
- Is there anyone copied on this email who could be left off the list?
- Have I attached any files that are very big? (If so, google something like ‘send big files’ and consider your options.)
- Have I attached any files that would work better in PDF format?
- Are there any 🙂 or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider).
- Am I forwarding someone else’s mail? (If so, will they be happy when they find out?)
- Am I forwarding something about religion (mine or someone else’s)? (If so, delete).
- Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it’s ‘actually true).
- Did I hit ‘reply all’? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?
- Am I quoting back the original text in a helpful way? (Sending an email that says, in its entirety, “yes,” is not helpful).
- If this email is to someone like Seth, did I check to make sure I know the difference between its and it’s? Just wondering.
- If this is a press release, am I really sure that the recipient is going to be delighted to get it? Or am I taking advantage of the asymmetrical nature of email–free to send, expensive investment of time to read or delete?
- Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?
- Bonus: Is there a long legal disclaimer at the bottom of my email? Why?
- Bonus: Does the subject line make it easy to understand what’s to come and likely it will get filed properly?
- If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?
June 5, 2008
Copy gets in the way.
Actually, thinking about copy gets in the way. You start writing and then you patch and layer and write and dissemble and defend and write and the next thing you know, you’ve killed it.
So, try this instead:
Write a classified ad. What’s the offer? What do you want me to do? You’re paying by the word!
"Lose weight now. Join our gym."
Six words. Promise and offer.
Now, you can make it longer. Of course, if your gym is on the space station and it’s the only gym around, and if the people reading your ad are looking at the bulletin board and seeking out what they want, then your ad is now long enough.
But most of the time, in most settings, a little longer is better. So,
add a few words or even a sentence. Is it better? More effective?
Gently and carefully add words until it’s as effective as possible, but
as short as possible.
Perhaps you want to make your promise more vivid, or more clear. Perhaps you need a testimonial or two to back up your promise. Perhaps your call to action needs to be more urgent… You can play with all of that, keeping in mind the original classified, keeping in mind that you’re still paying by the word (because attention is expensive).
And yes, this applies to articles in the newspaper, to blog posts, to how-to books and to direct marketing letters. It applies to the emails you send and the copy on your website too.
June 4, 2008
Grand openings are severely overrated. So are product launches and galas of all sorts.
Make a list of successful products in your industry. Most of them didn’t start big. Not the Honda Accord or Facebook, not Aetna Insurance, not JetBlue or that church down the street. Most overnight successes take a decade (okay, four years online).
The grand opening is a symptom of the real problem… the limited attention span of marketers. Marketers get focused (briefly) on the grand opening and then move on to the next thing (quickly). Grand opening syndrome forces marketers to spend their time and money at exactly the wrong time, and worse, it leads to a lack of patience that damages the prospects of the product and service being launched.
Non-profits do the same thing when they spend months planning an elaborate gala that takes all the time and enriches the hotel and the caterer. Far better to spend the time and money building actual relationships than going for the big ‘grand’ hit.
The best time to promote something is after it has raving fans, after you’ve discovered that it works, after it has a groundswell of support. And more important, the best way to promote something is consistently and persistently and for a long time. Save the bunting for Flag Day.
June 3, 2008
Today’s New York Times reports an astonishing fact: Book publishers wholesale their ebooks to Amazon for precisely the same price as their paper books. Amazon loses money on every ebook for the Kindle they sell because publishers don’t discount zero-cost ebooks.
Apparently, the publishers don’t count the paper, storage, inventory, shredding and shipping expenses in their cost calculations.
Either that, or they own a tree plantation or a printing plant.
And of course, they own neither.
Many businesses act as if they have a stake in their suppliers and other vendors. Instead of scaling the part of their business that can move quickly and well, they defend the part they don’t even own.
Jason wrote in to ask why I thought that the newspaper industry was in a Dip. In my book, I point out that with classified ads disappearing and the web thriving, the days of newspapers as we know them are clearly over. That shouldn’t mean the industry is in trouble. In fact, there are more people reading more news every day than ever before–without the cost of printing and distributing a costly piece of newsprint every day. Happy days…
But (many of) the people in the industry have built their lives around the trees. As a result, the industry is over. A new industry is being built in its place, often with new people doing work that might be done far better by the old hands, the ones who are stuck defending the wholesale slaughter of trees.
If you think your job is to keep the printers busy, then you see the world differently. You focus on per issue sales, you worry about people sharing a paper (!), you don’t count online readers as valuable (even though they’re more valuable). You focus on one edition, not a thousand different versions. You focus on having one front page, not dozens based on who is reading.
If you work for a newspaper that feels this way, every day you stay is a day wasted.
I worry about my esteemed friends in the book publishing industry as well. The amazing thing about the Times story today was the report that the mood at BEA was ‘unease’ about ebooks. The fastest-growing, lowest cost segment of the business, the one that offers the most promise, the best possible outcome and has the best results… is causing unease! All because of the trees.
Of course, there are trees in your business too. There are trees in the photography business (chemicals) and in the music business (plastic) and even in the personal computer business (computers). They may not be called trees, but they’re there.
June 2, 2008
You, a type designer?
Of course you are.
You are if you make presentations in PowerPoint or Keynote, or if you have a resume, or create signs or brochures or ebooks or even a blog.
And sadly, it seems that the bar is low and most people have trouble reaching it!
So, at the risk of the one-eyed giving driving directions, here are seven tips. There’s a PDF of the tips below (illustrated) right here. Feel free to share.(My goal isn’t to teach you the answer, it’s to get you worried about asking the question!)
At the risk of offending actual (talented) designers, here’s my quick list of seven (mostly for print… the web is a slightly different story):
- If you want professional results, hire a professional.
- Don’t use the built-in fonts that come with your PC. (Type is cheap. Invest.)
- Headlines in sans serif. Body in serif. (Easy tip—headlines are bold and condensed.)
- Black type/Light background. Don’t screw around unless you have some sort of design point to make. (Goth bands, it’s all yours).
- Headlines look great reversed. With two caveats: 1. don’t overdo it. 2. make sure you leave plenty of black around the border.
- TYPE SIZE! Too big is good. Too small is good.Just right might be a problem.
- Line spacing! Use less or more than the automatic. 14 point type probably deserves 15 or 16 point spacing.
Feel free to add your own tips or check out some books I’ve highlighted here.
Rob Walker’s (great!) new book on the overlooked triggers of marketing ships this week.
Clay Shirky’s book on social media is a classic for the ages.
N. Kelby’s funny mystery ships this week as well.
Tom Vanderbilt’s book on traffic is out next month.
On a regular basis I see books that are rehashes of six books that came before (with the same anecdotes even!), or else are so focused on appealing to everyone (and offending no one) that they don’t actually say anything. I want a book to change me in some way. Show me a different way to think and you’ve earned my attention.
You can get all four of these for less than the cost of dinner in a restaurant!
June 1, 2008
Let’s say the person in charge of your retail operations does the following every single day:
- Puts up a sign indicating which of five doors customers should use.
- Locks that door.
- Randomly unlocks another door.
- When someone figures out which door to use, he runs out and kicks them in the groin, then locks the door.
Maybe, just maybe, after a day or two of this, and a few warnings, you’d realize that this person was doing serious damage to your organization, no?
I called a company yesterday, one that promises 24 hour a day response. I worked my way through four levels of voice mail choices, then got a recording, "Please call back during our regular business hours." Then it hung up. No mention of when regular business hours were, and no indication four levels back that they were closed but automated help was available.
And I’m guessing the voice mail system has been doing this every single day for months or years. Who is in charge of this? Why do they still work there? If the person in charge were stealing laptops or peeing in the soup, it’s unlikely he’d still be around, no?
It’s pretty obvious: the CEO would notice the angry crowds in front of the store, she’d notice the police being called and the riot out front if the person in charge of the front doors was such a jester. But voice mail trees are invisible and the CEO doesn’t notice them. She should. You have my permission to call your company and see what happens. If you’re not proud of it, let the CEO know. If this isn’t your biggest marketing emergency, I’m not sure what is. Invisible doesn’t mean unimportant.
George Clooney is a movie star. He looks like one. He makes tens of millions of dollars a year, hangs out at Cannes and has starlets falling at his feet.
Danny Devito is exactly five feet tall. He was perfectly cast as the Penguin.
Can you imagine the career advice Danny got? The well-meaning people who explained to him (as if he didn’t know) that he didn’t really look like George Clooney? That perhaps, maybe, he should consider a job as a personal trainer or short order cook…
The math, however, tells us something different.
(number of people resembling George Clooney)/(jobs for people resembling George Clooney) is a much bigger number than the ratio available to Danny. For the math challenged: Because everyone in Hollywood is trying to be George, there are a lot more opportunities for the few Dannys willing to show up.
Invest in Danny. The edges usually pay off.
May 31, 2008
Just wondering–do you deserve to be recognized by the businesses you patronize, the charities you support and the place you work? Would it feel good to have the barrista remember you? Or the sushi chef at that place you spend so much time and money? (Thanks to Fredd for the link).
Even better, do you think it would be motivating (or even satisfying) to have your boss recognize you for the hard work you did over Memorial Day weekend? Honest recognition, not just a mumbled thanks…
Last question: do you think your customers and co-workers feel the same way?
May 30, 2008
An interview with Etsy about gender, shopping and stories.
plus
A secret way to find archives and subscription options on my blog (just click on the head logo on the top left corner of my blog).
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A longish interview with John Havens about new media.
Such a bargain. Thanks for reading, for listening and for subscribing.
