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Vol. 4 , No. 5     February 1, 2005

 


In this Newsletter:

  1. What Web Marketers Must Know About the New MSN Search
     
  2. New Markets for Good Ol' Boys: One Company's Story
     
  3. Attention, CEOs: It's Time to Blog
     
  4. Seven Strategies for the New Year
     
  5. Must-Have Terms for Co-registration Insertion Orders
     
  6. How to Talk to the Media (Even When You Don't Want to)
     
  7. SWOT Team: Preventing Email Bounce-Back
     

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Premium Content

Stephan Spencer
What Web Marketers Must Know About the New MSN Search

Microsoft is gunning for Google and Yahoo. MSN Search, the third most popular search engine, now accounts for 15% of all search queries.

A lot is at stake here for Web marketers. Whether you are knowledgeable about search engine marketing or just an observer at this point, you need to follow this development. Your search rankings—free and paid—in all the major search engines are important marketing assets.

Get the full story.

Please note: This article is available to paid subscribers only. Get more information or sign up here.

Claria

HOW MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE COULD YOUR ONLINE AD BE…
If every ad were seen by someone who was interested in your product or service?
Find out what Claria can do for you.

Lisa Johnson
New Markets for Good Ol' Boys: One Company's Story

Growth opportunities are everywhere—especially when industry sales have flatlined and new prospects look grim.

Sounds impossible? Not if you understand that there's a new breed of adventurous female customer waiting in the wings, ready to experience your products and services.

Here's the story of one company that got it right, and the lessons we can all take away from their considerable success.

Get the full story.


Susan Solomon
Attention, CEOs: It's Time to Blog

Old-school thinking demotes blogs to the domain of college students and frustrated authors battling writers block.

New-school thinking elevates blogging to a much different sphere of influence. Journalists have embraced blogging -- both authoring blogs as well as consulting them for sources.

And now blogging also has a place in the corporation -- in fact, it's actually good for business. Get the full story.

 

A Note to Readers

Lessons from Life: Turning Adversity Into Advantage

I am in the middle of a home renovation. Last week, my building contractor installed four windows and two spankin' new full-view doors in what was once a simple screened breezeway. But that created a problem: the windows looked too tiny and porthole-like next to the expansive doors.

My kitchen designer suggested a solution. Rather than scrapping the windows and buying four larger ones--at a point when the project budget was already giving me agita--why not add some bit of architectural detailing or molding beneath each window?

The windows, now framed differently, would in effect be elongated and fit better with the doors. What's more, the detailing would dovetail nicely (better, actually!) with the new look and feel of the house.

Then, this week, I was opening a bottle of my "house-pour," a sturdy and reliable Bonny Doon red. Around the bottle's neck was a humorous little piece of marketing collateral about the bottle's Stelvin closure system, better know in wine circles as Le Screw Top.

The collateral is designed to counter the perception of screw-top wine as the default choice of college parties and street bums. It details the "six stages of closure," which end, of course, in the spurning of cork and eventual acceptance of the screw top as a symbol of superior wine and the gateway to social grace and the admiration of one's peers. (See www.deathofthecork.com.)

So what do these two unrelated events have to do with one another? I confess: probably not much.

Except that, in both instances, adversity became opportunity. Bonny Doon is distinguishing itself in a highly competitive market by taking what could be a liability (a screw top) and turning it into a point of differentiation. (And it helps that it delivers its message with a hefty dose of humor.) Similarly, my designer saw an opportunity to not only correct a detail but actually enhance the larger design.

Somewhere there is a business lesson waiting to be distilled. Maybe it's this: When facing an obstacle—whether in the form of individual perception, popular culture, or institutional tradition—what you may actually have on your hands is a chance to turn your most-feared weakness into your greatest strength.

Until next week,

Ann Handley
Chief Content Officer
ann@marketingprofs.com


 

Last Issue's Top 5

  1. What Are Your Customers Really Worth?
  2. Three Critical Steps to Tracking Direct Marketing Campaigns
  3. 10 Golden Rules for Getting Great Work From a Design Agency
  4. Cause-Related Marketing: Does Corporate America Genuinely Care?
  5. Goal-Chopping: How to Reduce Chaos in Your Strategy
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Rob Engelman
Seven Strategies for the New Year

As we enter the early stages of the New Year, it is natural to think about and plan our marketing and business development activities for 2005.

Whether you are a independent consultant, corporate executive or entrepreneur, consistent application of the following seven core marketing best practices will enable you to produce the kind of business results you want.

Get the full story.


Stephan Pretorius
Must-Have Terms for Co-registration Insertion Orders

Co-registration (or co-reg, as it is commonly known) is rapidly gaining ground as a media tactic. In the age of CAN-SPAM, and with an increased understanding in the market about the importance of user permission for effective email communication, co-reg is an attractive option for building a house list.

This article discusses the most important issues to consider when crafting an insertion order (IO) for a co-reg buy.

Get the full story.

Bronto

Powerful Email Marketing

Send newsletters and surveys and track results. Clients include LendingTree.com, Kaplan, and Duke University.
See examples and learn more.

Sylvie Sadarnac-Studney
How to Talk to the Media (Even When You Don't Want to)

Have you watched too many well-meaning interviewees torn to bits on 60 Minutes? Heard your peers reel from being misquoted in the local paper? Do you worry that the media won't "get it" when it comes to your business?

Working with the media is no picnic. When done strategically, however, it has the power to increase your company's visibility, boost your status as an expert in your field and drive business to your door. Here's how.

Get the full story.


Meryl K. Evans and Hank Stroll
SWOT Team: Preventing Email Bounce-Back

This week, add your two pesos to the dilemma: What steps can you take to ensure your email newsletters get through spam filters (and don't bounce back)?

Also this week, read your answers to: What do you do when your audience doesn't respond?

Get the full story.

Contact

Publisher:Allen Weiss
amw@MarketingProfs.com

Content: Ann Handley
ann@MarketingProfs.com

Strategy and Development:
Roy Young
roy@MarketingProfs.com

Director of Premium Services
Val Frazee
val@MarketingProfs.com


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