Too many promotional emails?

People often complain about the number of emails they receive. Since I have a home-based copywriting business, I get a decent amount -- business and personal mixed. But, I'm careful. And I block nasty ones regularly. So the e-mail flood is manageable.

However, I'm amazed (and sometimes annoyed) at the number of emails I get from a select group of companies. I remember opting in for some of these companies. But I certainly didn't expect to get almost daily emails from The Cleveland Indians, Epson, Border's, CompUSA, and a few others. A big deal? Maybe not. But add them up and you're talking nearly 1,500 a year from this group alone. Now we're talking big numbers.

Here's a simple suggestion to online marketers: Ask us how many emails we want to receive per year. Or give us a chance to select from among various email frequency levels. For example, I could choose to receive: (1) only critical announcements, or (2) critical, plus important new product/service announcements, or (3) every email the company could possibly dream up. We'd all get exactly what we want. And no one could complain.

I hate to see otherwise fine companies turn themselves into spammers.

The toxic AIG brand

Forty-five days ago, most people hadn't heard of AIG. Today it's perceived as one of the most contemptuous companies on the planet. If you were an ad agency or public relations firm, would you take on AIG as a client? Give it an extreme image makeover? Some might argue that this is the ultimate communications challenge. If you could get people to like AIG and do business with them, you'd likely buy yourself a spot in the communications hall of fame. And you'd make money along the way. Fair enough.

But this is a highly toxic brand. It smells funny. It burns. That's a tough ship to turn around. I read on Yahoo that former AIG CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg says the bailout has "failed" and he's proposing a 10-point alternative focused on saving, not breaking apart, the mega-insurer.

Greenberg gets an "A" for effort. But if he and others plan to save AIG, they better plan on burying the AIG name.

Hello, my name is....

Been networking lately? Of course you have. Almost everyone is doing it, whether to seek new business, find a new job, or for many other reasons. If we're going to do it, let's do it well. Some tips....

• Arrive at the event early. It's a much tougher gig if you arrive when the room is already full and conversations are well underway.
• Place your name tag on your right side. Most people greet by extending their right hands -- and that's the side where your name should be.
• If you can get a list of attendees in advance, decide whom you want to meet before you even arrive. If not, walk the room, glance at name tags, and selectively introduce yourself.
• Have a 60- to 90-second "elevator pitch" ready that explains who you are and what you do.
• Be efficient. Don't spend too much time with any one person or group, even if that person is someone you absolutely, positively want to engage. Respect their time.
• When handed a business card, show interest in that person and his/her card. Scan it quickly, but carefully. You may find some information that will trigger a good comment or question.
• When introduced to someone, help yourself remember that person's name by repeating it out loud three times. No, not in a row. But something like this: "Denny? Hello, Denny. Pleased to meet you. Denny, it looks as though your company is in the logical security business...."
• Be positive. Or, better put, don't be negative. It's okay to have candid conversation, but keep the whining in check.
• Ask questions. Listen. Ask questions. Don't ramble. Ask questions. Be brief.
• Offer to help people. If you do, it may lead to a positive outcome for you later.
• Make sure your discussions are win-win events for you and for those you encounter. If a person provides you with key information, gives you a contact to call, etc. find a way to return the favor.
• Follow up with a brief email or note -- you'll stand a better chance of being remembered.
  

Killer headline from BusinessWeek

Saw a creative banner ad the other day. The surprise: it was from the very conservative BusinessWeek magazine. I don't recall a visual. But the headline next to the logo was outstanding: "Repair the damage done by reality TV." Timely. Intelligent. And laugh-out-loud funny.

You'll love "Love."

You will. Promise. And that applies whether you are a Beatles fan or discovering the group for the first time.

What is Love?

In collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, Sir George Martin (the Beatles' legendary producer) and son Giles Martin worked with the entire archive of original Beatles recordings -- slicing, dicing and combining many of the songs to create a beautiful and sonically charged musical journey of 78 minutes. (A second surround-sound version clocks in at 81 minutes.) The album is also featured in the Cirque du Soleil/Beatles collaborative production of the same name at The Mirage in Las Vegas.

The mixing is highly creative. And the sound is pristine -- Beatles music never sounded clearer. Looking for great tunes? All you need is Love.

Five proven proofreading tips

A client once asked me for proofreading tips that she could share with her marketing staff. I decided to post them here for the blogging community, as well.

1. Have anyone with writing/proofreading responsibility acquire and use a copy of: The Associated Press STYLEBOOK and Briefing on Media Law. ISBN 0-7382-0740-3. Last version I purchased was a mere $17. A terrific and easy-to-use reference for making/confirming decisions on capitalization, abbreviation, spelling, numerals, usage and much more. An absolute must for every writer and proofreader.

2. Proof by reading text backwards -- end to beginning. This forces the proofreader to notice/read every word individually -- an especially great way to catch misspellings.

3. Create, update and use a "style sheet" that covers the details missing in most corporate ID or branding manuals.

Example: How do we consistently present our phone number? Do we use hyphens or dots to break up the numerals? Parentheses around the area code? Etc.

Example: Use a comma before the third item in a simple series? (The flag was red, white and blue.)

4. Use built-in spellcheckers last, not first. Consider them backups only.

5. Proofread in teams, when appropriate. Person A reads the text on the layout/proof/screen aloud, verbalizing everything that appears in the text.

Example: Take the sentence "I love dogs." Person A reads aloud the following: "opening quote," "capital I" "I love dogs" "period" "closing quote." Person B silently follows along, reading from the original word processing doc that was used to create the type on the layout, printer's proof or computer screen. This catches any differences between the two "documents," and puts two sets of eyes on the proofreading task.

Hope these help.

Joe

If it looks good in white....

I have a simple way to test the design of an object. Just strip away the color and see if that object can stand on its own. Let's use cars as an example. Pick any car. Does it look good in white? If it does, it's probably because that car was touched by a team of great designers. In my opinion, the Nissan Xterra looks terrific in any color, including white. That's simply because it looks terrrific period. It's a well-designed vehicle that doesn't need a specific color to make it sing. Any thoughts on your end? Colorful or not?

Is the Dunkin' Donuts brand back?

Long time since my last post. Busy workload. Let's catch up. Comments welcomed on the following:

9:35 Saturday morning. Quick stop at the local (new) Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins (combo store). Crap. No parking spots. Seven cars in the drive-thru. People everywhere, mostly buying wake-up beverages. I'm not angry. Actually, I'm impressed.

Dunkin' Donuts has not been shy about its desire to wrestle the coffee business back from Starbucks. Dunkin' Donuts used to be the king of coffee. Not anymore. But stay tuned. DD’s coffee is good. And inexpensive. (They wouldn't take my Starbucks Card, BTW.)

DD's new tag line is "America runs on Dunkin." At first glance, the line appears to be nothing special. But, look closer and you can appreciate the fact that Dunkin' Donuts wants to reclaim its turf. And that turf is America. All of it. It's reminding consumers that DD has played a major role in the caffeinating of America. It's a warning shot fired above the heads of Starbucks, McDonald's and other coffee purveyors.

The new stores are bright. Fun. Clean. And they're offering many of the same sophisticated coffee-based drinks as the upscalers. Yes, this is only one store. And Starbucks offers a different atmosphere. But I was stunned by the high level of activity. And coffee-to-go doesn't require an atmosphere. Maybe this is another success story of a dated brand being brought back to life. IHOP is another example.

I love Starbucks. But it's nice to have a less-expensive alternative. DD appears to be OK.