Nellie couldn’t decide what to wear for Halloween. Then, after watching Shogun, the Last Samurai, and Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, it just kind of clicked into place.
Archive for October, 2009
Turning Japanese, oh yes I’m turning Japanese
Friday, October 30th, 2009
Email marketing suicide; a step-by-step guide
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Oh sure, anyone can implement an effective email marketing campaign that offers great ROI. But what if you’re looking to tank your email campaign? Not so easy, is it? Don’t worry, Andrew Kordek from Deliverability.com has outlined nine basic steps guaranteed to sink your campaign. In a nutshell:
- Boast to your subscribers about your prowess in email marketing. And do it often. They really care about this.
- Forget about what your subscribers want; you’re in this to generate revenue. So, be sure to send them an email everyday and eventually they’re bound to buy something. Or opt out.
- Remember, you’re not really sending emails or communications, your sending “blasts” and all that the name implies. Get those subscribers in your sights and blast and blast away.
- You know all those white papers, articles and blogs that cover email marketing best practices? Print them out and turn them into paper airplanes. C’mon, no one knows better than you anyway.
- People signed up for your email so they must obviously want it. They crave it. That said, don’t spend too much time thinking about what you send, they’ll be happy to get anything. They’re so needy.
- Don’t waste money on an email expert to run your program since any bozo can do the job. No bozos around? Grab someone from the mail room; they’re experts with the mail, right?
- Choose an email service provider based on the following criteria: A) they can send email, and B) they are the cheapest ones around. Don’t be bothered with trivial things like does their user interface and service support suck.
- Never grow your list organically when you can buy a list with 4 million opt-in names for just $99. Hey, who doesn’t love a bargain?
- And finally, be sure to let your CMO or president tell you how to run the show. Just because he or she does not fully understand what you do, that’s no reason to think they can’t do it better.
Pearls, indeed.
Estee Lauder offering free makeover and headshot for social media profile
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
You’re not really going to use that old vacation photo for your Facebook profile, are you? Estee Lauder has a better proposition. Beginning October 16, the cosmetics company will offer free makeovers and photo shoots at select department store cosmetics counters to produce head shots women can use for their online profiles. The promotion will also include a giveaway of a 10-day supply of foundation.
This event runs counter to the cosmetic industry’s “gift with purchase” promotions, but the executives at Estee Lauder are viewing this as a way to bring a more contemporary image to the brand and perhaps attract a younger buyer as well. And, since the photos will have an Estee Lauder logo in the background, the company can likely expect to increase its brand presence on Facebook and other social sites.
FTC wants more transparency from advertisers and bloggers
Monday, October 5th, 2009
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently announced two new requirments that will impact both advertisers and bloggers.
Testimonials
According to Mary Engle, associate director of ad practices at the commission, the FTC is changing its guidelines on endorsement so that advertisers will no longer be able to use statements like “Results may vary” as a way to justify claims that are counter to the norm of a product or services’ expected performance.
David Vladeck, head of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Disclaimers of guidelines are not working. Misuse has been especially prevalent in weight-loss products.
“In the FTC’s review of 300 ads, two-thirds used consumer testimonials. Few showed realistic claims, and disclosures of atypical results were flashed too quickly to read. ‘Results may vary’ does not adequately inform consumers that claims are outliers or extreme cases. They do not disclose results consumers should realistically expect. That is the main problem.”
The changes to the guidelines will take affect this year.
Bloggers
The Associate Press reports that under new guidelines approved the by the FTC, bloggers will now be required to disclose any gifts or payments they receive for reviewing a company’s product. The penaly for noncompliance is a fine of up to $11,000 per violation.
