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Saturday, December 27, 2008
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Friday, November 7, 2008
News of the Weird?
File this under "Whacky Headline Sequences".
Headline 2:
Headline 3:
Doh!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
$100 Million Before Break Even? That's a Lot of Pizzas!
I'm REALLY glad I'm in the online information publishing business. You know, where you can start a web-based business for a few hundred bucks - and where the sky is the limit.
Imagine, instead, being in the restaurant business. Good grief! No thank you. Here's one example why not…
A new place just opened here in downtown Delray Beach. Vic & Angelo's. It's gorgeous and the food is good - I checked it out just after opening night.
I'd been watching them renovate the building for about 18 months. And I knew they had to be spending a TON of money. But I almost fell over when I read the final figure.
$3 million on renovations and another $1 mil on additional start up expenses. Holy cow - $4 million bucks to open an Italian restaurant in Delray Beach!
Restaurants keep only 4 cents of every dollar spent by a customer, according to Hudson Riehle, VP of research and information services at the National Restaurant Association. The rest of the money, he says, is split amongst food and beverage purchases, payroll, occupancy and other overhead.
Now I'm no accountant…
But that sounds to me like they'll have to make $100 million in sales before they even break even. $100 million bucks - that's a lot of pizzas! About 5 million in fact!
OK, OK – so they sell all kinds of nice meals. That’s still a million covers (dinners) at (say) $100 each. Yikes.
My initial impression was that the person who did this had to be nuts.
But that was before I found out the owner, David Manero, is an experienced restaurateur. And this is actually Vic & Angelo's second location. They have another one up in Palm Beach Gardens.
So he must, you would think, be well aware of all the margins, risks and rewards.
If this second store is a success, well, I'll say more power to him.
But meanwhile… remind me to never start a business where I have to sell $100 million before I can break even!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The pain of discipline or the pain of regret?
With October comes shorter days, cooler weather, turning leaves…
And football coaches trying all SORTS of things to inspire their teams to play to their highest level.
New York Jets head coach Erik Mangini is an especially strong advocate of motivational speakers and techniques.
This week I heard Mangini mention something that Baltimore Colts coach Mike McCormack used to ask his players (although it's also attributed to others including Jim Rohn).
"Would you prefer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret?"
Point being, of course, that the pain of discipline is fleeting, while the pain of regret can be eternal.
It reminded me of something my marathon training buddies and I talk about when we're out sufferin' and griping in the mid-August Florida heat running 16 miles.
"You can pay now… or you can pay on race day."
It's all about choices.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
So I Think I've Got Problems?
“Hi… I found… found you guys online and I was wondering if I could run with… ya… you?”
Every few months, a newcomer shows up for our Saturday morning marathon training group. But there was something very unusual about the young lady who joined us this this morning.
“My name is K… K… Ki… Ki … Kim.”
She was about 30, looked to be in good running shape, and beamed a big, friendly, and outgoing smile.
And, as we all soon realized, she had a serious speech disability.
Along Ocean Boulevard on Boca Raton, we have our routines. We chat as we run, and the conversation flows quickly and easily.
But now, every time Kim had something to say, it was turning into a 30 second episode.
I began rooting for that one final word to come out… you almost want to shout it out… help her along. But you don’t. And after a while, it can get just a little bit "uncomfortable".
We had a nice run. But afterwards something was bugging me. That's when I started thinking about it all.
Uncomfortable? I was uncomfortable? The nerve of me!
What about Kim!?
Every day, every hour… every conversation, every confrontation, every chance meeting… the simplest dialog must become an incredible challenge. Filled, no doubt, with stares, strange looks, sometimes, no doubt, even ridicule.
How brave she must be to live that life, and to then come out and meet a group of 10 total strangers, smiling and telling light-hearted stories the whole time. What courage!
Shame on me for my self-pity when I whine about my trivial little “problems”. My issues don’t amount to a hill of beans compared to the millions who face real difficulties and challenges, many of them far tougher than Kim’s.
The next time I’m feeling down, I’ll think about Kim and thank my lucky stars for inspirations like her.
And I'll hope that should I ever face such challenges, may I be able to summon up Kim's kind of courage.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Does This Discounting Strategy Make Sense?
I hadn't been to the Pineapple Grill in about a year, so their ad in a local monthly newsletter caught my eye.
"Dine with a taste of the Caribbean! - Special: Purchase one Appetizer and one Lunch and receive Free Second Lunch (of same or lesser value)".
Well that sounded like a good reason to go back. Last time the place was in transition and we'd been disappointed.
But then I took a closer look at the ad. And the next few words took me aback.
"Free Lunch Not to Exceed $11".
Huh?
So let me get this straight...
They want to attract new customers... and possibly bring back old ones.
But if you have more expensive taste... i.e. you want to give them MORE money... you get a worse deal?
I understand about food costs and all, but there's just something about this that seems wrong to me.
Am I the only one? What do you think? Good idea or bad? Lemme know... let's hear your comment on this post.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Copywriter Needed; Apply to NY Yankees, Bronx, New York
The 3rd place "Bronx Bombers" baseball team may be struggling on the field this year…
But they could sure use some help in their Marketing Department as well. And so, for that matter, could the Florida Marlins, the LA Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves.
Go to any one of their websites and you'll find the most HORRIBLE violations of Copywriting Commandment #1: It All About Your Prospect, NOT You,
Let me explain…
I'm sure you familiar with those special events that teams hold throughout the season when fans get treated to fireworks, entertainment, bobble-head dolls, you name it,
So guess how these baseball teams describe these fun bonuses on their schedules…
Fantastic Fan Freebie Night? Nope, you're cold.
Gala Goodie Giveaway Game? Sorry, you’re ice cold!
Two-For-One Fan Appreciation Day? Freezing!
None of the above and not even close. They call them… drumroll…
Promotion Nights.
Ugh! Arghh! Yikes!
A promotion is a marketing technique. It is what a marketer DOES.
But that's never how they should present it to their fans.
After all, to paraphrase a great thinker, no one's ever gotten up on Saturday morning and said to his wife "Gee honey, I think we should go to a Promotion tonight".
Bottom line: When your marketing department comes up with a good idea, make sure it gets run by a copywriter who knows how to present it as beneficial to your prospects and customers.
A good marketing idea is useless if it never makes it through to the heart of your prospect.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
He'll Kill You With a Feather
Last night I was privileged to see guitar virtuoso Mark Knopfler perform in
I've been to literally hundreds of rock concerts over the past forty (yikes!) years or so (Zeppelin, McCartney, The Who, Tull, Springsteen, etc etc) and this one definitely lands in the top ten.
Most listeners probably know Knopfler as the leader of 1980's group Dire Straits and author of megahits such as "Sultans of Swing", "Money for Nothing" ("I want my MTV...") and "Walk of Life" ("Here comes johnny singing oldies, goldies Be-bop-a-lua, baby what I say...").
But you might not know that he's gone on to become a prolific film score composer and magnificent solo artist. And I use the term artist with all due respect.
One reviewer on Amazon described the "
Mark is a true master artist. Sure he can bang out a killer riff of staccato notes with anyone on the planet. But he doesn't NEED to hit you over the head like that.
He knows that subtlety is more powerful. He'll let the rhythm section do the heavy lifting. And he just drops in the occasional perfect accented note.
Understated and brilliant.
Watch as his tune opens with a quiet story, engaging the listener.
Slowly the pace augments. In the background, the snare picks up. One by one, another instrument joins in...
Violin... accordion... penny whistle… bass... more drums...
And then the release - the explosion!
Afterwards, unlike most, he'll pull it back and give you yet another tasty and brilliant quiet morsel.
Sometimes he goes on to a dramatic buildup again.
But more often than not... he's gotten you revved up... he built a crescendo... gave the release... withdraws... and then slowly teases you with an understated refrain.
You're waiting, gasping for breath... listening to every quiet note and echo...
Wondering, anticipating… will he take me to that magical place again?
Ultimately, great art, great writing, great music mirrors the waves of passion that lie within the human spirit.
And there's a reason.
They come from the same place - they ARE the essence of what it means to be human and ALIVE.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Don't Send Mixed Messages
Sneak Insider Report - Overheard in our offices at Early to Rise this week...
ETR: Hi, thanks for coming. So first of all, tell me… why are you leaving your current job?
Applicant: The calls, they are so stressful.
ETR: What do you find stressful about them?
Applicant: There are so many. And the people, they're all unhappy.
As Miami Herald writer and author Dave Barry sometimes says, "I swear this is true."
Talk about sending the WRONG message.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Marketing Genius Found at Denver Car Wash
I'm in Denver this week - out here at our rocking and rolling Internet business-building conference...
And I stumbled across some OUTSTANDING marketing copy yesterday.
It happened in, of all places, outside a car wash - and the timing was PERFECT.
Last night I was walking down Colorado Blvd with my wife, returning from Wahoo's Fish Tacos. (Yum).
I'd been mentally preparing in advance for my big talk on Copywriting today, and yet a few things were still missing... and bugging me a bit.
For example, I needed a good example of how "it's all about your prospect" and how your copy should "appeal to your prospect's deepest and strongest core emotion" and "solve their biggest problem".
And that's when we walked past the local car wash one block from the hotel and spotted their billboard:
"Waxed Cars Use Less Gas".
Wow - brilliant!
Five Words.
Simple, clear, succinct.
And everything else a great marketing message should have and do. Especially right now in July of 2008 in the USA.
Proving that sometimes you just step right into wonderful things staring you in the face...
And that you can find all kinds of valuable examples of how to do things right...
Just by keeping your eyes wide open!
PS: The car wash was packed.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Keep Track of All the New Airline Fees
Planning a flight and wondering about all the new add-on fees?
Wonder no more.
Rick Seaney of FareCompare.Com has put together a real nice chart including virtually every US airline and every add-on fee, including...
Phone reservations, first bag, second bag, advanced seat selection, soft drinks, snacks, alcohol, pets, adult movies, curbside check-in, and more.
I wonder when they'll add water and oxygen to the list!
Check it out at http://rickseaney.com/domestic-airline-fee-chart/
PS: Just kidding about the adult movies. Wanted to make sure you were reading. :-)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
How NOT To Apply For A Writing Job
You would think if someone were applying for a writing job, they would pay special attention to their…
Well, to their writing, yes?
But if you thought that, I am afraid you would have thought wrong!
Here are just a few of the lowlights from recent resumes and cover letters I've received. Each line is from a different letter, (followed by my comment)…
* "The benefits for you in hiring me are that you get a versatile pro who works hard. If I miss a day of work, it's because of a hurricane or I'm contagious."
(NOT SURE IF CONTAGIOUS IS A GOOD "RESUME" WORD).
* "Words have been passed down even before Christ himself came to earth to sacrifice himself for human kind."
(MAY NOT BE THE TIME OR PLACE FOR THIS).
* "Current Job Title: The talanted Mr. Cordero"
(IF YOU ARE GOING TO BRAG, AT LEAST LEARN TO SPELL).
* "Objective: To Secure a Job to Suit Related Interests"
(AND HOW EXACTLY IS THAT GOING TO HELP ME?).
* "Writing has always been a pass time for me; however I would relish the opportunity to make it a career."
(DITTO - AND I THINK YOU MEANT PASTIME).
* "Organized and creative thinker, who is very much part of the work experience; establishing, ethics, diversity and above all innovative thinking"
(HUH?).
* "while I am a very good writer, I consider my major strengths to be more intangible."
(WHAT?).
* "I am a curious about everything under the sun, the sun itself and its' orbit."
(NASA MAY BE LOOKING FOR ASTRONOMERS BUT NOT ME).
* "I am particularly interested with self help topics, news headlines and just recently fashion."
ISN'T THAT SPECIAL.
Next post, I'll show you a few of the ones that were actually good.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Smoke Em if You Got Em
Flew up to JFK last night for some personal business meetings in NYC this weekend. I actually used frequent flyer points on JetBlue for this trip.
I'm starting to use up ALL my FF points right now. I think you should too...
Yesterday CO announced 3,000 folks laid off. The press release - like so much air news these days -mentioned "crisis" more than a few times. Sure, they're probably fishing for a bailout. But there's real trouble here too.
As fuel prices explode and air fares follow, those 25,000 points that were worth a $200 flight are suddenly worth $300 or $400. So using them up now has become a great deal.
But with all the trouble in the industry, you've got to think this party is not going to last. You've got to think frequent flyer programs are the next thing that are going to be cut.
I'm looking at various redemptions now (Delta, CO, USAir) and the summer's almost impossible, but right after Labor Day there are plenty of openings.
If you've got a stockpile of points you've been hoarding, now might be the time to use them for some autumn travel.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Power of Specifics
How much would you be impressed if your telephone or cable company said they’d be “on time” for your home service appointment?
Well sure… it sounds okay. But it’s so vague; your eyes would probably glaze over.
“Whatever… I’ll probably end up sitting home waiting half the day.”
Now suppose instead they said “Your serviceman is currently scheduled to arrive at 10:43 AM”.
I bet that would catch your eye!
It sure did mine.
During a recent trip to Maine I saw that promise made in a commercial for “Bob's Discount Furniture Delivery”. Type your order number into their website and you’ll get a very specific message such as…
“Your furniture is currently scheduled to arrive at 11:34 AM”.
Wow. That got my attention, even though I wasn’t the least bit interested in the commercial and certainly not in ordering or receiving furniture.
But if the goal of an advertisement is to snap you out of your everyday somnolence, as copywriter John Carlton has said, this one worked.
It’s a testament to the power of specificity.
General numbers and phrases imply lack of real knowledge… hedging… maybe even bluffing or lying.
“We should be there in a couple hours.”
Translation: Yeah, right.
Roy H. Williams, in "Secret Formulas of the Wizards of Ads" says, "The simple truth is that nothing sounds quite so much like the truth as the truth, and most people seem to know the truth when they hear it. The truth is never full of loopholes and generalities. The truth is made of specifics and substantiations. It's solid. That's why it's easy to spot in a world full of paper-thin lies, half-lies, and hype."
Say “Between February 12 and November 23, 2007 we picked gains of 78%, 143% and 353%”.
If you’re writing about improving health, don’t say “Our program will make you feel better.”
Of course, your product or service has to deliver on those promises. If it doesn't, you might make the first sale, but you'll immediately lose credibility. And even if customers don't return it for a refund, they won't buy from you again.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Avoiding Yet Another New Airline Fee
If you didn't like it when airlines announced $25 fees for "2nd checked bags"... here's worse news...
American Airlines will now levy a surcharge for ANY checked bags.
AP reports AA "will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off possibly thousands of workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices."
For now, competitors are saying they have no plans to match this increase.
We'll see how long that lasts!
Want to avoid these fees altogether? Here you go...
http://charliebyrne.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-save-50-on-your-next-airline.html
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Me? Not Late... Just Running Late
"Peter's running late... but he wanted to let you know he's on his way."
Funny phrase, that "running late" is.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Copywriting Challenge #1 - Can You Top This Copy?
Ready to go on a mission to save the world? AND get your “name in lights”? PLUS win a genuine Early to Rise hat and T-shirt?
Good, because I’m looking for some volunteers. Now mind you, I’m not talking about stopping global warming, ending the war, or turning “green”.
I just want to make the world safe for… readers. Yes, it’s time to put an end to The Plague of Bad Copy that threatens the planet.
Take a ride around your town and you’ll see it on signs everywhere you turn. Self absorbed… inner directed… and completely without benefit to the reader.
Here’s an example of one I came across just the other day outside a local strip mall.
“ALL TENANTS OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION”
“Tenants open”? Why should I care about “tenants”?
Obviously the mall owners created this sign to appease their renters…
But what they really should be doing is appeasing their “tenant’s” customers. You and me.
Wouldn’t something like this be more likely to attract shoppers:
“All Our Friendly Shops Open While We’re Sprucing Up!”
I bet you can come up with even better suggestions.
Sure, we can’t expect every retailer and landlord to be professional copywriters - or even well-educated Early to Risers.
But why not lend them a hand - and have a little fun at the same time? So here’s what I propose…
Send me a digital photo of the worst copy you can find. I’ll post it and ask our readers in ETR to suggest better alternatives. Then we’ll take a vote, and maybe even send a copy of the winning entry to the offending “author” if we can track them down.
By the way, here’s one of my favorite examples of a GOOD store sign. I came across one outside Gray’s Papaya in New York City a few years ago:
“OUR HOT DOG – The Thunderous Pop When You Bite Into It – The Saline Tang of the Pink Flesh – Oh YES!! (Please I’m Getting Hungry Already!).
Now that’s got some appeal, don’t you think? It’s almost… erotic, dare I say.
A bit more inviting than “tenants open during construction.”
OK So here’s what to do right now.
Think about better copy for that sign outside the Mall that is open during construction.
Then, post your copy in the comments section below. Next week I’ll take a vote from our readers in ETR, and the winner gets their name in lights and a genuine Early to Rise hat and T-shirt with our compliments.
Meanwhile, when you come across a bad sign in your town, email it to me at Charlie@ETRFeedback.Com.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Is Your Web Developer Chasing Away Customers?
Most web developers and programmers couldn't care less about your site visitors. They're largely technical nerds more interested in bits, bytes and "cool" stuff.
So it's up to YOU to make sure what THEY produce is user-friendly.
Example: Phone number entry fields on forms. How often has this happened to you...
Enter Phone No: __________
So you enter the digits and here comes an Alert Box:
"PHONE NUMBER MUST NOT CONTAIN DASHES!"
It's a sure sign that a real moron programmed this application.
Why?
If your site features user interaction, make sure your web developer isn't making your users jump through hoops just to provide basic information.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Irish Blessing - Or Is It A Curse?
I'm fortunate to live exactly one mile west of the Atlantic Ocean - and I love my morning runs to the beach. But the other day I ran right into a little problem...
Normally I leave the house, run a mile east to the beach, a mile south along the Atlantic, and then retrace backwards, for a total of 4 miles.
On Wednesday I left the house late and so I knew I'd only have time for 2 miles - one out and one back. So I head out, run due east 1 mile (going very fast, I was feeling great) and turn around.
Uh oh!!! I'd been running with a west wind at my back. I was wondering why everything seemed easy… too easy.
When the going was good, I'd used up all my reserves with no thought to the future. Now, with the wind in my face, I was suffering.
I have a feeling there's a business lesson here…
The Irish blessing says "May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back."
Sure, go full out if you know that wind is never going to die.
But in the real world, sooner or later it will - and you better be ready for that.
So whether you are Dutch, Italian, Irish or anything else…
Make sure to use the good times to do a little bit of planning… for the bad ones that sooner or later surely will follow.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
How to Save $50 on Your Next Airline Trip
Looking to save $50 on your next airline trip?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
A Time of Inconvenience
I’m having a great time this weekend at ETR's Profits in Paradise conference in Orlando.
The weather's gorgeous, the speaker's dynamite, and the attendees are having a BLAST picking up TONS of great wealth-building advice.
So it's all been good so far. Except, that is, for one MAJOR disaster...
Morning room service doesn't start until 6:30AM.
You see, I'm up at 5 (hey at Early to Rise we practice what we preach)… And as a certified caffeine addict, I need an immediate fix. Sure, I can make one of those mini-pots of Joe in my room, but that mystery brown liquid doesn't really even deserve the "c__fee" designation.
So what's up with that 6:30 "mid-day" breakfast time???
Is our hotel setting this time for the convenience of their guests? Or is it for the convenience of their staff and management?
Here at ETR we try our best to keep our reader's convenience in mind. A few examples:
* We heard complaints that folks couldn’t print out our newsletter. Some prefer to read on paper. So we went to considerable time and expense to make it easy to print out the daily eletter.
* When we plan our conferences, instead of timing them during the week (handy for us), we build them around weekends (convenient for our readers).
* We’ve upgraded our customer service desk to ensure faster and more accurate help with any issues.
Make sure your business decisions are about (and convenient for) your customers and not YOU.
Of course I’m no so naïve as to believe you don’t have to keep expenses in line and optimize and streamline processes and procedures. But…
Don’t have early arriving restaurant staff park in the best parking spots.
Don’t close down bank teller windows at lunchtime.
And please don’t start room service in the middle of the morning!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Nietzsche versus the Harvard Business Review?
I'll admit it.
I'm sometimes suspicious of academic business commentary.
Just imagine how often this scenario plays out: A bright, well-off high-schooler gets accepted to a top Ivy League college. He majors in (say) economics, graduates and goes on to post-grad work and eventually moves into academia as a professor.
Next thing you know, reports on business are coming out from "respected Harvard professor so-and-so".
Sure, he's STUDIED business for years, but the sum total of his hands-on business experience? Zippo!
Nietzsche called this the difference between “wissen” and “erfahrung”. Rough translation: the difference between book-smarts and street-smarts. At Early to Rise we've found that the street smart advice usually ends up with a higher correlation to actually making money and being succesful than theory and academics.
And so I was pleasantly surprised to open this month's Harvard Business Review and find good “street-smart” advice on managing hypergrowth from Alexander Izosimov.
He’s not a professor but the CEO of Vimpel Commuciations, Russia’s second-largest mobile phone company.
Yes, HBR does run plenty of intellectually interesting and occasionally useful articles from the academic elite. But I’ve noticed I find myself reading the ones from seasoned business executives more often.
Izosimov should know about rapid growth: He’s helped roll out cell phones in Russia as market penetration jumped to 120% (yes some have two) from 12% - and his company’s market cap jettisoned to $40 BILLION from $600 million in the same period.
His recommendations sound very much aligned with what Early to Rise and Michael Masterson in Ready Fire Aim advise when managing a rapid expansion period.
1) Sell First and Ask Questions Later. Don’t waste time on perfection or the opportunity will pass you by.
2) Don't Try Too Hard to Innovate. They call it the bleeding edge for good reason.
3) Organize Like McDonalds. Get standard structures and procedures in place so your infrastructure doesn’t bog you down.
4) Push Decisions Out to the Front Line. Paralysis by excessive corporate analysis is death.
5) Foster a Can-Do Culture. Enable an action-oriented company. Don’t punish rapid failure. Learn and move on quickly.
If this kind of advice makes sense to you, check out Izosimov's full article. And if you don't already have it, get a copy of Ready, Fire, Aim - I guarantee the best $20 you'll ever spend.
[Note: An earlier version of this post was released while it was still in draft form. Whoops! If you saw that, I apologize for any confusion and probably several misspellings, no doubt including Nietzsche. – CFB]
Thursday, April 10, 2008
JetBlue's Web Usability Mistake
Will you join me in a little experiment today?
When first planning a trip and searching for airline flights, how many passengers do you indicate in your initial search?
One? Two?
Maybe the whole family - 3 or more?
Or how about zero?
Personally, I always start out looking for 1, because at first I'm really just price and schedule shopping.
I can fine tune later.
But one number of passengers I'd NEVER book for? Zero.
So why is that the default on JetBlue's main booking page?
I'm guessing here that many folks - maybe 50% or more - are like me and start out looking for a flight using just 1 person... then change it later once they've found a good deal, right date and time, etc. But ZERO?
Hey, I like Blue a lot. Fly them all the time.
So after I enter my From:, my To:, and the out and back dates, I'm ready to see what they've got to offer:
BUT... Click Search at that point and here's what you get:
That's not very friendly!
Web usability icon Jacob Nielson says "In forms and applications, pre-populate fields with the most common value if you can determine it in advance."
I say, "Here here!"
Isn't it preferable, if you MUST "inconvenience your customers" (by forcing them to fill out a form), that you irritate say 50% rather than 100%?
If you've seen other goofy form defaults, let us know about them in the comments below.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Give Your Customers (Even "Enemies") What THEY Want
It's tough being a Florida Marlin. Maybe even tougher working in their Marketing Department. But they recently made one astute change that caught my eye...
Problem "B" for the Marlins? Fan loyalty.
Nearly everyone in SFla is from somewhere else. And that means you've got Yankee fans, Mets fans, Red Sox fans... and just a few Marlins fans.
In fact, when one of these teams visits (as the Mets did this week), sometimes half the ballpark is filled with "enemy" fans (like Mr Met, yours truly).
In past years I've been surprised browsing their souvenier stands. They've got tons of Marlins hats, shirts, pens - you name it.
But wouldn't it make sense, I thought, to offer goods from the visiting team?
Given how many prime "prospects" you've got just walking past... wallets open... ready to buy.
Sure, love your own products - but swallow your pride when necessary - and don't fall prey to Not Invented Here syndrome.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Web 3.0 ("Semantic Web") and Microformats Preview
Interested in previewing Web 3.0 technology?
Better yet, want to create your very OWN "Web 3.0-enabled" web page right now?
OK - then just follow along with these easy steps...
1) Get latest version of Firefox browser if you don't already have.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
2) Get the "Tails" add-in which lets you view Microformats (data structures embedded in the XHTML behind the page).
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2240
3) Get a Blogger account or use one you already have to create a new post.
4) Go here, create an hCard for yourself (Personal Contact Info) and paste the HTML into your Blog:
http://microformats.org/code/hcard/creator
5) Go here, create an hCalendar for some future event of yours and paste the HTML into your Blog:
http://microformats.org/code/hcalendar/creator
6) Publish your blog page and open it up in Firefox. The Tails add-on will have a separate panel on the left side. You should see these Microformats displayed there.
Below are the visible entires for the hCard and hCalendar I created for this post. If you are viewing in Firefox and Tails, you should see the Microformat Tags on the left side right now (if not, see screen shot below).
You should be able to mouse over them and see options for easily exporting into your Contact mgmt program, your Calendar program, etc.
Here's a MicroFormat hCard:
Charles F Byrne
Early to Rise
245 NE 4th Avenue
Delray Beach, FL , 33444
USA
This hCard created with the hCard creator. End of hCard.
Here's a MicroFormat hCalendar
November 9th – 12th, 2008 ETR 2008 Bootcamp– at Delray Beach, Florida
This hCalendar event brought to you by the hCalendar Creator.
----------
And here's how it looks when you open up this very post in Firefox with Tails.
Note the yellow/orange tags on the left side.
There's our Microformatted data!
Hey, it's not much but this really works.
Here I've clicked on the hCalendar "export" and now I've got a dialog box opened up.
If I like, I can now import this event into my Outlook calendar, all with the click of the mouse.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Ski Lodge More Efficient Than Doctor's Office!
I'd arrived at Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Valley ski area Friday around 2PM - and I only had the next day to get in some quick skiing before business meetings on Sunday.
I was delighted when I found the rental shop offered a very nice feature: early "online" registration. All too often, Saturday morning at a ski rental area means waiting on long lines and filling out endless forms and releases.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
JuiceBlendz.Com Blows It - The Insanity of Image Advertising
It still amazes me to see companies just THROWING money away on image/brand advertising.
Most recent example....
Last night Peggy and I go to the NHL hockey game at Fort Lauderdale's Bank Atlantic Center, 18,000 people in attendance. Arrive at the arena and each seat has an empty styrofoam drink cup in the seat's drink holder.
We sit down, pick it up, and look at the cup. It's colorful on the outside and says something like "Juice Blendz Smoothies".
I look inside the cup, surely expecting to find a 50% off coupon or some other response device. Nothing.
I look on the outside of the cup again. Maybe there's some print "Bring in to store for free smoothie".
Nope.
I have to really look hard simply to find any useful information at all. Finally way at the bottom in small type I see "JuiceBlendz.Com". That's it.
Wonder how much JuiceBlendz spent on this promotion? One thing is for sure - whatever they spent, they'll never be able to quantify their ROI.
If they'd added a simple direct response device, they could have done that - and they'd have meaningful data for improving future campaigns based on the results. And they could have collected email addresses too, by driving their prospects to a website.
Instead, today they have nothing but a vague idea that they spent some money on a campaign.
It reminds me of the classic line... roughly this...
"50% of my advertising budget is money well spent, and 50% isn't. Problem is I don't know which 50% is which".
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Carlton, Makepeace, Masterson writing goes in the Toilet!
Send an article or promotion to run in Early to Rise these days, and it could very well end up right here...
Monday, March 17, 2008
Top Ten Blogger Sites - February 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
$597 Million in Free Customer Service Advice!
Can you really build a succesful company based almost entirely on Customer Service?
If you look at online shoe sellers Zappos, the answer has to be a resounding "yes".I've written before in Early to Rise about my exceptional C/S experiences with them.
But does that translate into cash? Let's look at the numbers:
Zappos Gross Sales
2000 $1.6 million
2001 $8.6 million
2002 $32 million
2003 $70 million
2004 $184 million
2005 $370 million
2006 $597 million
I had a chance to meet briefly with their founder and CEO Tony Hsieh last week in Austin. (He's the one that looks about 17 years old):
Stay tuned to Early to Rise next week where I'll be relating more on that experience - and giving you some of his best advice for building a half-billion dollar company in 6 years!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Solve Your Reader's Problems - Not Yours
Picture your consumers/customers/readers as the cat.
Picture yourself as... well... the guy.
Your marketing message is not about you!
The message may seem obvious - and yet so often I see copy that just out-and-out blows it.
Latest example came at a NHL hockey game, walking amongst the crowd during intermission...
Along comes a young lady holding a sign: “50/50 raffle – get your tickets here”.
I walk right by, briefly wondering what's a "50/50 raffle". I see a few more people holding similar signs, and ignore them (like just about everyone else).
Next week, go to another game. Same people with same sign. Finally, I stop one of them...
"What's the deal with this?" I ask.
"What do you mean?" she says.
"What's the deal with the raffle?" I elaborate.
"Oh, the winner gets 50% of all the money from the tickets sold. It's usually about $1000".
Ahhh - now we are getting somewhere.
"Maybe your sign should mention that," I offer.
"Oh, okay, thanks." she says.
I'm going to a game Friday night. We'll see if they changed, but I'm not counting on it.
Too bad.
How many more tickets do you think would they sell if the sign read "Win $1000 Tonight" instead of "50/50 Raffle"?
Or they could even address a deeper benefit: "Win Free Hockey Tickets Tonight!" (and explain that with the cash you could pay for future tickets).
Wouldn't that be an improvement? What would your raffle sign say?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Airline's Useless Words: This Will Serve as a Blog Post
If airlines want more satisfied passengers, perhaps a small start would be to skip the bizarre lingo and speak like normal people...
Airline: "This will serve as the final boarding call for flight 1123 to Atlanta."
Real Human: "This is the final boarding call for flight 1123 to Atlanta."
Airline: "Be careful as luggage in the overhead compartment has a tendency to shift."
Real Human: "Be careful as luggage in the overhead compartment may have shifted."
Airline: "Please watch your step as you deplane."
Real Human: "Please watch your step as you leave the plane."
What "stupid airline trick" drives you crazy? Let's discuss in the comment section below!
Attention: This will serve as the final sentence in this post. The cabin doors have been opened and at this time you may feel free to deblog.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sheraton NCAA Wave: Instant Social Network Case Study?
Want to witness the launch of a huge, corporate Social Network -building effort as it happens?
Social media maven Shiv Singh from Avenue A/Razorfish advises you to stayed tuned this week for Sheraton Hotel's massive promotion.
Their goal is to get involvment by letting the online community build a sports "wave" for the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament. (You know, like "The Wave" at a real stadium).
A few of Singh's bullet points on Social Influence Marketing:
- Become your consumer - get closer to them, be like them.
- Aggregate information for your consumer.
- Articulate product benefits better.
- Amplify favorite business stories.
- Participate where your comsumers are.
- Don't do it all at once.
You can no longer leave the conversation to marketing!
Zuckerberg / Lacy Meltdown at SXSW: Twitter, Meebo to "Blame"?
Gosh, maybe some of the speakers at SXSW should have read my post last week on managing Live Conference presentations in the new "Age of Meebo".
Grumblings from one session I attended (and was Meebo-ing myself) are now making the rounds as "SXSW Interactive Day 2: Audience Revolt at the Metrics Panel."
And on a much larger scale, things really fell apart in a big way at yesterday's jam-packed Sarah Lacy interview with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. While Lacy fiddled on stage, Rome was burning in the audience via Twitter and Meebo.
Documentation of the meltdown is spreading like wildfire, a testament to the power of both Meebo and the Blogosphere.
Why You Definitely MUST Sweat the Small Stuff
In copywriting we constantly talk about the importance of specificity.
For example, in Early to Rise we discussed it on June 10, 2006 and on Novemeber 4, 2004 and even on May 12, 2005.
Small details bring writing to life and make your story credible. Michal Masterson once told me "Vagueness, generalization and summaries are death!".
Details count in products as well. Kathy Sierra of "Creating Passionate Users" gave a packed talk yesterday on "Tools for Enchantment: 20 Ways to Woo Users" at SXSW.
At her talk she gave an example of the WOW factor caused by just one little detail...
Have you seen the iPhone?
Have you scrolled it?
Have you noticed the little "bounce" when you stop?
Cool, right?
Just a little detail, for sure, but Sierra explained that the little details add up to the difference between a mediocre product - and a cultural phenomenon like the iPhone.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
From Good to Great - LL Bean Does it Again
Good companies live up to their customer's expectations...
Great companies exceed them.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
How to Read Your Audience's Mind with Meebo
This could actually be most useful for the speaker. Have an assistant monitoring the conversations and giving you feedback via an earpiece.
"You're losing them... may want to cut this short..."
"You hit a nerve here, they want more info, keep talking..."
Could be horribly distracting for a speaker - but might work if done right.
Is Twitter for Twits?
BTW, notice I specifically did NOT recommend using Twitter.
Here's what becoming a Twitter-head can say about you...
"I'm an idiot who doesn't have control of my own life. I want other people to control it via interruptions, where they tell me what to do."
It's almost as crazy as the circa-1997 desktop "push" programming movement.
Sure - be a supplicant to someone else's agenda. That's cool, right?
No - Get a life!!! (your own)!!!
I couldn't agree more with Tim Ferriss and Michael Masterson on ignoring the so-called "urgent" issues and sticking with the "important" ones.
Next post has some photos I took walking around Austin tonight... uninterrupted...
It is quite a town.
=====
UPDATE MARCH 14 2008...
I may have to change my thinking on this a bit.
Twitter could be handy in exactly the situation of being at a conference with a group of like-minded people. Then, shut it down until the next event.
More later...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Some Leading Edge Social Time Management Tools
There are some very nice new tools out there for coordinating your time/schedule at busy (aka multi-track) conferences.
* Matt Mullenneg (WordPress founder) @ http://www.ma.tt/
Mobile social software Dodgeball (http://www.dodgeball.com/) can also come in handy as a sort of less annoying and more managable Twitter if you're trying to stay in touch with a group of friends or colleagues in a particular major US city.
Sending an “@ location” message (where the location is a restaurant, venue, bar, etc) to Dodgeball will forward your current location to your entire list. If your friend doesn't know where that place is, he can ask the system “location?” and it will ping the person back with an address.
Ian Lloyd produced an interesting site just for the event - it's a list of the"fun social events" - using an upcoming technology called Microformats - which cutting edge SEO folks and bloggers might want to keep an eye on.
http://www.austin.adactio.com/
Techies may want to do View Source on the html.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Bizarre Mystery of the Wireless Network Name
How many times have you seen this in an airport recently....
Several people in a waiting area... laptops open...
"Excuse me...are you getting a signal?"
"Yeah, I'm pickup up a few but none of them seem to be working."
"Is there real service here, or are these other people's laptop network's?"
"Beats me."
I've seen this scene played out many times at Washington's Reagan National (DCA) US Air terminal... at Newark (EWR)... and lots of other places too.
C'mon guys... Would it be too tough to post a few signs with the available wireless network name???
And now, I just checked into my hotel here in Austin. It's a nice Marriott, I get up to my room, and good news: Free Wireless! OK, that's a bonus, a lot of hotels charge $10 or more (Paradox: At cheap hotels it's free, at exclusive luxury hotels, it's a fortune).
So I fire up the laptop, and here's which neworks show up from my 11th floor room:
988A
atomic
stayonline
COA_MESH
Magahoc
There's a nice brochure announcing the free wireless but no Network name - argh!
Hmmm. I guess it would be too hard to make one called "Marriott Wireless".
I ended up taking a chance on stayonline, and it turned out to be the right one.
Tell me your war stories of annoying practices with computer access on the road...
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Can I Bring You Along With Me to SXSW?
OKAY... here’s a list of just SOME of the very interesting-looking sessions and/or speakers (I’ll bet you recognize at least a few of these).
What question would YOU like me to ask one of these presenters if I get the chance?
Maybe I can get the latest inside stuff from folks at Flickr, Yahoo, Google, Twitter, Facebook and others.
Let me know what ONE question you would ask - and I’ll see if I can get you an answer… It's next best thing to being there. (But sorry, I can't send you that Texas BBQ or great Austin Mexican food I'm hearing about).
Check it out...
Micah Alpern, Yahoo! Inc
A/B Testing: Design Friend or Foe?
David Altounian, iTaggit
Following the Lifecycle of an Idea
Simon Batistoni, Flickr/Yahoo! Inc
Taking Over the World: the Flickr Way
Jim Benton, AdBrite Inc
Online Advertising for Newbies
Rohit Bhargava, Ogilvy
Core Conversation: 10 Easy Ways To Piss Off A Blogger (And Other Mistakes Marketers Make)
Michael Buffington, Grockit Inc
Worst Website Ever: That's So Crazy, It Just Might Work
Daniel Burka, Digg/Pownce
Social Design Strategies
Stuart Candy, Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies
Futurists' Sandbox: Scenarios for Social Technologies in 2025
Alan Citron, TMZ
Gossip
Peter Cole, AKQA Inc
Creating Findable Rich Media Content
Adam Conner, Facebook Inc
Friend Me! Vote for Me! Donate Now!
Blaine Cook, Twitter Inc
Scalability Boot Camp
Henry Copeland, Blogads.com
The Suxorz: The Worst Ten Social Media Ad Campaigns of 2007
Christian Crumlish, Yahoo! Inc
Online Identity: And I *Do* Give a Damn About My Bad Reputation
Jeff Eaton, Lullabot
Content Management System Roundup
Michael Eisner, Tornante LLC
A Conversation with: Michael Eisner
Matthew Esber, NCSoft Corporation
Following the Lifecycle of an Idea
Tim Ferriss, www.fourhourworkweek.com
The Art of Speed: Conversations With Monster Makers
Jason Fried, 37signals
10 Things We've Learned at 37signals
Steve Ganz, LinkedIn
Social Networking and Your Brand
Seth Goldstein, Socialmedia Networks
Peas in a Pod: Advertising, Monetization and Social Media
Will Graham, The Onion (Onion News Network)
Behind the Scenes at the Onion News Network
Janet Greenlee, Fleishman-Hillard
Just Over 50 and Not Dead Yet
Quentin Hardy, Forbes
Managing the Media Blur
Eric Hellweg, Harvard Business Online
The Care and Feeding of Your Startup
Chris Heuer, The Conversation Group
Self Replicating Awesomeness: The Marketing of No Marketing
Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com
Top Ten Lessons Learned in E-Commerce
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures
True Stories from Social Media Sites
Tim Kendall, Facebook
Peas in a Pod: Advertising, Monetization and Social Media
Gary Leland, Podcast Pickle
Core Conversation: Marketing to Real People in Second Life
Ynema Mangum, BMC Software Inc
Social Marketing Strategies Metrics, Where Are They?
Simeon Margolis, Utterz
Scoop the Story on Your Blog
Brian McConnell, Worldwide Lexicon
Lost in Translation? Top Website Internationalization Lessons
Thomas Myer, Triple Dog Dare Media
Lead Generation on the Web
Denise Shiffman, Venture Essentials
The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today's Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
Jeffrey Veen, Google
The Elephant in a Creative Designer's Living Room
OK So which industry hot-shot should I grill with YOUR question???
Let me know what (and who) you want to ask, by clicking the "Post a Comment" or "x comments" link below...