This post written from Starbucks in Newark Liberty International Airport, Terminal C.

Marketing has changed dramatically in the past few years. Social networking and social media continues to stir traditional marketers into frenzy.  Conventional marketers such as ad agencies have barely come to grips with the proper usage of the Internet as a sales and marketing vehicle. They continue to disregard cornerstones of successful website design such as usability, load times, strategic content development and search engine friendliness. Instead these traditional marketers tout the benefits of creativity and unique design elements that go against the grain. Creativity ends up blocking communication and no one but the agency benefits.  The proper usage of the web continues to elude a lot of marketers but they seem to be slowly coming around as businesses become better educated on what works and what does not. 

Now throw social media into the mix. BLOGs, viral video, Podcasting and social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook etc. Most agencies I come in contact with have no idea how to deal with this ever changing medium. Businesses for the most part have no idea what to do in this space and more often than not dismiss the notion altogether citing reasons such as. “Only kids are doing this stuff” or, “We don’t have the time for that”. 

The fact of the matter is your average business owner is a wimp, afraid of spending money and failing or afraid to admit that they just don’t understand it enough to make a go of it. They don’t know where to turn since their traditional marketing channels are as bewildered as they are so they do nothing and hope for the best. 

Hope is not a strategy - Get over it! In the fledgling days of the commercial Internet there were many businesses that simply dismissed the internet as kids stuff or a fad. The ones that looked beyond conventional wisdom and took a chance online are reaping the rewards and the naysayers are licking their wounds and try to play catch up. 

As the title of this article states, “it’s hard out here for a wimp”, business is not for the faint-hearted, it’s tough and marketing is risky, but how is this different from any other time in history? Business has always been complex and marketing has always been a gamble. You cannot dismiss new ways to connect with customers as fads or simply ignore them and pray your business will flourish as it has in the past. The greatest business leaders of our time did not achieve greatness because they were timid. Good businesses do not become great businesses with a play it safe strategy. 

You think social media is going to go away? For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right. Sites like Second Life or MySpace will eventually fade away. The fact still remains, they exist now and so does the opportunity. One of the foundations of marketing is identifying opportunity and exploiting that opportunity until it no longer has value. When it stops working – move on. So who cares where these sites will be in six months or a year? They are here now and represent an opportunity. 

You simply cannot keep doing the same things over and over again and expect to thrive. In order to grow you must keep moving forward. Don’t have time to BLOG, find the time. Don’t have the time to create a social media strategy, hire someone to do it for you. Contrary to popular belief it does not take that much time to get out there and make connections with your customers. A few hours a week is all you need to get started. 

Yes some people do get carried away and spend far too much time seeking out online friends and get completely wrapped up in the social aspects of this type of Internet marketing. I won’t deny that you can go overboard to the point where you are wasting so much time with social networking that it becomes counter productive. That’s why you never venture into any type of marketing without planning. It’s critical that you create a strategy for this type of marketing. Outline a detailed blueprint of where you want to be, how to properly use the tools and how much time can be allocated to these efforts. 

Your customers are out there connecting with new and exciting medium and you need to be there too because, you can be sure your competition is. 

You don’t have the time – make the time – before all you have it time (think about it). 

This post written from Starbucks in Glen Rock, NJ

There are two types of people in this world, those that Blog and those that do not.  It took me 38 years to narrow the world’s population down to two groups but I finally did it. Life should be much easier for all of us from here on in.

The business Blogger typically Blogging to market a company, service or product. Business leaders, marketers, authors and wannabes, all marketing while sharing expertise on a given subject to gain exposure. The business Blogger adds their own flavor to a topic in an attempt to connect with their potential customers and readers. Freely giving knowledge in exchange for that elusive subscriber and illustrious comment. Garnering real unfettered feedback that has never been so readily available in the past.

Blogs are a must have tool for today’s business. In our web 2.0 world of social media and user generated content, companies are striving to become transparent and trusted. Blog’s are a crucial first step on the road to corporate transparency. Sharing expertise can often reaffirm expertise in a noisy landscape overflowing with self proclaimed gurus. Giving away a little wisdom can provide benefits that far exceed the tightlipped status quo of yesterday.

The personal Blogger creates daily diaries of minutia about everyday life. They document the world through their eyes writing feverishly as they record the events happening around them. Connecting with friends and those of similar ilk. the personal Blogger is also trying to earn that elusive subscriber and the coveted comment.  The personal Blogger shares thoughts and perspective with the rest of the Blogosphere by creating off the cuff conversations for all to partake in.

Two distinct motivations, some for love, some for money, most for a little of both. Equally hoping to achieve the same result.

What about the do not’s? Do they get it? Do they understand the complexities, motivations and the stress of creating post after post after post? Can they even begin to empathize with the tortured soul behind the keyboard of mediocrity desperately trying to connect with the connected?

Apparently not.

A good friend, an internationally acclaimed marketing author, a gifted writer and world class story teller, the man who would be king (of the Bloggers) recently made me rethink my “Blogging is something everyone should do” posture. I led him by the hand, guided him directly to the promise land and helped him create what was destined to be greatest Blog writing of all time! After about two weeks and one post I was sent an email and for the first time in my life – I was speechless.

“My suspicions about Blogs seem confirmed. 18 days: zero comments. Not even an email, a phone call, a driver passing me at a crosswalk, rolling down his window, and shouting “hey Buddy, see you’ve got a Blog!”

In cyberspace, no one can hear you scream.  Or Blog, either.

Blogs seems like vehicles that let people ruminate and free associate, not unlike those students in “creative” writing classes who are encouraged just to “express themselves,” as if the inchoate expression of their feelings almost certainly contains some key truths–a provably ridiculous assumption, and an example of “promoting self esteem” gone mad.   

Free association–”Here’s some shit I’m thinkin’ about, in the way I’m thinkin’ ’bout it”–worked to some degree for James Joyce, but Ulysses got a free pass from readers–most of them confused by the words most of the time–because it was “literature” and Joyce was a genius– the kind of event that prompted the author of the Emperor Has No Clothes to point out that quite often, kings are naked.

Everything outside of literature is journalism, and the responsibility and necessity for a journalist is above all: be clear.  Bloggers don’t seem to feel that responsibility; they instead seem to share the conceit that their innermost thoughts are not simply interesting, but intoxicating, to others.  

Well, sorry: no.  BLOG:  Big Lumps of Garbage.
Some others, perhaps.  But not me.  I’ve never read anything in a Blog that would merit a few column inches of type and the cost of the newsprint.

I suspect it would be the same if I posted a reasonably insightful piece about the marketing implications of the Anna Nicole Smith case, Brittany Spears’s meltdown, or the marketing of this weekend’s Academy Awards.  No one would listen or comment, not least of all because they’ve learned what I have: BLOGs are bogs–thickets of mud.
Dopes have Blogs.  Schmoes have Blogs.  Anyone has a Blog.  Why in heavens’ name should I?”

You were the choosen one!
You were suppose to bring order to the force not leave it in ruin!

I was disappointed but at the same time enlightened. I saw the passing of the old regime. A gifted author - a marketing genius -  a man who is ready to pass the torch to a new breed of guru. A new expert, an expert for today’s connected masses.

Blogging is critical in our world, there can be no argument. The sharing of insight and experience is the way of our connected world. Blogs are agreeably not literature but more so a means of connected communication representative of the timeliness and participatory nature of a new and exciting connected culture.

Those that Blog will, and those that do not will fade away, having done their part to get us to the world we now occupy. They have passed the torch and I – (ehem!) I mean, we, gladly accept it.

Ironically his email to me would have made a fantastic Blog post.

This post written from Starbucks in Cocoa Beach, FL

According to all the profiles I’ve read on match.com, no one is overweight anymore. It seems the obesity epidemic is over! What great news, we can now put the trans-fats back into our fries and roll those candy machines back into the schools.
Either the armies of singles on match.com are a genetically enhanced race of super singles or I’ve just stumbled onto the most talented group of salespeople I’ve ever seen!

When the motivation is right, ordinary people become extraordinary marketers. Not wanting to live alone is apparently a strong motivator. I’ve never seen a collective group so adept at marketing themselves. Everyone describes their “body type” as, “fit & toned”, “athletic”, “slim” or my favorite….. wait for it…….”a few extra pounds”.
You can sift through hundreds of profiles and never come across a, “plump and proud”, “chubby and cheery” or my personal fav, “large and in charge”.

A few extra pounds?!? What does that mean? Are you literally carrying a stubborn 3 extra pounds that just won’t go away? Don’t these people realize that the end game here is to “meet” someone live and in person? What happens then? No wonder online dating gets such a bad rap. You think you’re meeting Bo Derek and you end up having a latté with Bo Diddley.

The profiles are equally as inflated. No one has ever been at fault for a breakup or divorce. Everyone is looking for that special someone that “gets them”. Everybody is kind, understanding and just about the most terrific mate you could ever ask for. WOW! You can’t go wrong. Just pick one at random – you can’t lose!

Match.com singles are not the only great salespeople out there.  I’ve always touted the people pushing goods on the television shopping networks to be among the best sales people in the known universe. They have levels of enthusiasm that rival the winning team’s fans at a Super Bowl where the game is won with a hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. I’ve always been impressed by the ability of Home Shopping hosts to be hyper-amped up about an air mattress one second and equally as jazzed about a set of china the next.

The baseball card collectible guy, Don Wagner is truly something to see. Best known for his intensity and my all time favorite catch phrase, “Be Dialin” Don Wagner could sell trading cards of local crack addicts and people would buy them! His enthusiasm level for what he is selling is off the charts! I am glued to the television when he’s raving about the latest collection of limited edition, rare, hard to find, gonna be gone forever, sure to be worth millions in the very near future baseball card collection.

In sales and marketing we all know that believing in your product is a must but in today’s noisy world belief alone just doesn’t cut it. We are deluged with grandiose online profiles and hyperactive pitchmen. We need to take it up a notch. In order to market we must have excitement that can be seen, heard and felt.

Excitement sells and passion is contagious. When the people you are marketing and selling to can feel the level of excitement about your product, service or even yourself, they get excited about it too.

If you’re chunky be chunky but be excited about it! Tell the single masses about your passion for great food and desire to hit the gym with the right person. Passion shines brighter than anything. When it comes to marketing always be honest about yourself, your product or service and always market with unyielding gusto! When others experience your fervor, connections will be made faster than the waistlines at the China Buffet.

This post written from seat 7A on JetBlue flight 525 from New Jersey to Florida on my way to speak on the “website conversion clinic” panel at Affiliate Summit Miami..

In 1988, “The Diabolical” Biz Markie sang (I use the term, “sang” loosely) “you say he’s just a friend” and went on to tell his “baby” she got what he neeeeeeds. I wonder how those lyrics would have differed if the song were written today?
“You say their just MySpace, Facebook, Blog Catalog, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, twitter friends. You say their ALL just friends. Oh BAbY YOooouuu, got the friends that I NEEeed – thank you for the add I said thank you for the add” (I took that a little farther than I thought I could )

Anyway, you get the picture. In today’s connected culture, with all of our advances success still hinges on who you know, perhaps even more important, how you know who you know? You can be very successful but if your MySpace page has no friends, you’re just a big fat loser (making the “L” sign with my fingers on my forehead – which is awkward because I’m on a plane and now people are staring at me. I think someone just alerted the air marshal).

Having online friends is critical. Social networking is fast becoming the status quo. If you’re not out there you’re nowhere. I have more friends then I know what to do with and I want more! Acquiring friends is addictive! The more friends you have the more visible you are. If you don’t think social networking is vital to spreading your marketing message, just take a look at any of our 2008 presidential hopefuls. Hillary, Rudy, Obama they all have MySpace pages! They are all vying for votes by creating online supporters (combined they have over 100,000 friends on MySpace alone) and MySpace isn’t the only place they are trolling for friends. YouTube, Friendster, FaceBook, LinkedIn…they are everywhere!

In business, networking is nothing new. Networking is how good businesses become great ones. Social networking just takes it to extreme levels. Your network becomes viral and connections extend through armies of online friends in the blink of an eye. You make a friend and instantly all of their friends are exposed to you and you to them. You connect with a friend of a friend and it happens again, more people are exposed to you.

There is a downside to being madly connected online; you’re now exposed to thousands of people. Every move you make can now be seen, scrutinized, commented on and can spread quicker than the sizable woman sitting in the seat next to me went through her kosher meal.

An online community of friends is nothing new. Chat rooms and forums were among the first Internet community applications. Forums are still pretty popular. In an online forum, like minded people gather initially discuss a common topic or theme but eventually they end up discussing everything as friendship connections build.

A good friend of mine belongs to a specific Harley Davidson forum. Recently when we were out to dinner he told stories about how his forum members often rally to help their online brethren through rough times. Raising money for members with illnesses or those who have fallen on hard times is a common occurrence. They also act as a global support group or sounding board for those going through divorce, tragedy, loss of a pet or just about anything affecting their lives.

Social networking is going to be a critical marketing component for businesses in the very near future. Email marketing, Podcasting and Blogging have already made significant inroads into the marketing world and social networking sites are closing in fast. If you think MySpace and other social networking sites are kids’ stuff you may just want to rethink your stance - in the words of Biz Markie, “they got what yooou neeEEeed” – friends.

This post written from Starbucks in Oakhurst, NJ

I keep an open mind and try to look at everything from an optimistic point of view. There is not much happening on the web that I don’t get or can’t spin into a marketing strategy but I have to admit that when it comes to twitter – I don’t get it?

For those that don’t know, twitter is a social networking application that appeals primarily to the 18 – 24 year old group. If Blogging were reborn as an extreme sport it would be twitter.  Twitter allows anyone to create a profile and post (twitter) snippets of their lives as they happen (in 140 character increments). Users twitter what is happening in their lives at that very moment. No matter how boring or mundane the activity, people twitter away. They twitter from their web browser, IM and from their cell phones. Twitter describes it as, “A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?”

As you can imagine, twitter messages are mind-numbingly trivial. Here is a sample of average twittering:

• Breathing deeply
• Relaxing on the couch
• Trying to wake up and go for a run before it heats up out there.
• Less than 5 hours till I see Transformers movie.
• On my way to work
• Going to bed

My first reaction to twitter was not positive. Do people really have nothing better to do? Have our lives become so boring that we need to read blow by blow updates on the rest of the populous? Are people that self absorbed that they think others want to live vicariously through them? Do we really need to catalog every minute of our lives? – Apparently.

There is no denying twitter’s popularity. I’m wildly impressed with the amount of people twitter has connected with. Not sure what the motivation is to twitter the day away or mindlessly scroll through random twitterings but you can’t argue with success. Twitter found an audience of loyal customers. They twitter in the morning, they twitter in the evening, they twitter all over this land.

As useless as I think twittering is I’ve come to the realization that just because I don’t use something does not make it worthless (it was a hard corner for me to turn). If you really put your mind to it you can extract value from almost anything. Try this on for size. If you have a product or service that targets the 18 – 24 year olds, before you finalize your marketing strategy you may want to spend some time on twitter. You can gather some truly amazing insight into where, how, when and why that age group does, well, everything. From a marketing and customer intelligence perspective does it really get any better then that?

Maybe twitters future is in customer intelligence? Possibly a global marketing focus group or part of another application? Perhaps it will just fade away when the twitter throng move on to the next hot thing?

Right now twitter is hot and the twittering masses are giving the world a glimpse into the happenings of their lives and people seem to like it so I say go for it. Twitter your brains out. Twitter until your fingers bleed but, if you crash into my car while you’re twittering on your cell phone I promise that your next twitter will be “getting my ass kicked”.

This post written from Starbucks in Sea Girt, NJ 

I walk from room to room with my head hung low as I try to recover from a life event that may haunt me for all my remaining days.

I switched from MyYahoo! To iGoogle – There, I said it! That’s right; I made the move from my long time (eight years) home page, MyYahoo! To the younger better looking iGoogle. – I feel so dirty.

It started out innocent enough, we’d meet up once in a while just to see what was new. We’d move some content around, add some widgets but it was all just good clean fun. Every night I’d come home to MyYahoo! I thought I could handle it, I now look back and realize I was a fool to think I could pull off seeing them both – I was living a lie and it was eating me up inside.

At first it was harmless content moving but then it happened, we started adding RSS feeds. First we started with just a couple of marketing Podcast feeds but before I knew it were going at it twice a day, adding Marketing Blog and mashup feeds like animals! Before long I was hooked, my widgets have never been moved like that before – I had to do the right thing and make the move permanently.

I surfed my way back to my old homepage; it was the longest click I’d ever taken. I was dreading the conversation with MyYahoo!

Me: We need to chat.

MyYahoo: I had a feeling this was coming.

Me: First off, it’s not you, it’s me.

MyYahoo: Cut the crap.

Me: You’re right, you deserve the truth. I never meant for this to happen, it just did. We’ve been together a long time. When we met things were new and exciting, it was a different time a different world, but as time went on we really just never kept up with the changing times. I have needs damit!

MyYahoo: Oh, so I suppose that iGoogle does all those things you wanted me to do?!?

Me: And more.

MyYahoo: Hmmmfff. So that’s it, you’re not even going to try? We can go see a developer.

Me: It’s too late for that; I’ve already changed the home button on my browser. Come on, cut that out, you know I can’t stand to see you refresh.

MyYahoo: I can’t help it, my server is overwhelmed.

Me: Look, we’ve had some good times and you’ve made me happy for a long time but I need more. I need quicker response times, faster feed updates, more choices and lets face it, iGoogle really works to keep looking great, you stopped caring about that years ago.

MyYahoo: I have a lot on my page!

Me: I know you do. I’m not saying…

MyYahoo: So I’m supposed to just wipe my cache of you and move on. Well it’s not that easy. You know iGoogle will never respect your privacy the way I do. Everything you do will be under the microscope. Every search and feed click will be recorded and eventually it will be used against you. iGoogle doesn’t care about you, you’re just being used.

Me: I know.

MyYahoo: And you still want to go?!?

Me: Yes.

MyYahoo: Fine! Then go – you’re no different than all the other users out there. All you really want to do is interface!

Me: Come on, lets not end it like this…

MyYahoo: Just click.

So I clicked. I didn’t know what else to do. I can’t say I’ll never look back or that I won’t have regrets down the road. I’ll definitely miss my old home page.  I can’t explain why I am making this move to iGoogle, I’m a marketing guy, an Internet marketing expert. I wrote an Internet marketing book for goodness sakes! I know better than anyone that my privacy is at risk and all of my search history will be recorded and eventually used and sold to advertisers. I can’t explain it?!?

– Maybe I’m just thinking with my pointer?

This post written from Starbucks in East Brunswick, NJ

So the madness begins! The lines for apples new iPhone have already started forming. All over the country people have started camping out on line in font of their local apple store to be one of the first to own the much anticipated iPhone.

The iPhone is set to go on sale on Friday June 29^th at apple stores and AT&T locations around the country. The iPhone is a revolutionary new device that combines a touch screen cell phone, web browser, email client and iPod into one ultra cool device.

As a certified gadget guy I have to say I would not mind owning one, unfortunately the phone does not really ft my needs. Even though I’m an avid iPod user (have an 80 gig iPod with over 20,000 song 50 TV shows and a few movies and I’ve had 4 iPods before this one), heavy cell phone user and a gadget nut, believe it or not I’m not the target customer for an iPhone.

The reason that the iPhone is not right for me is that the iPhone is not a good “smart phone” for business users (so don’t ditch your Blackberries just yet). There is no sync software to sync a calendar or contacts with any major CRM system, not even Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. You can only sync the iPhone contacts and calendar with apples iTunes software. The iPhone also lacks a core feature; voice dialing, and any road warrior will tell you voice dialing is a must have for calling and driving.

As a power iPod user this phone would be a poor replacement for my current 80 gig iPod. The two choices are 4 or 8 gigs; I have playlists bigger than that!

The reason that I’m not right for the iPhone, the iPhone (at least the first generation) is for the “cool factor” crowd. Just look at the people waiting in line waiting for one or take a look at the phone features apple is highlighting in thier commercials. Users sliding through pictures, surfing the web and my favorite, watching videos on You Tube. The commercial shows an iPhone user watching a skateboarding dog. Great, now I can take my A.D.D. on the road.

The iPhone is the device that will bridge the gap between iPod haves and have-nots, giving apple an even tighter grip on the already staggering market share they have in the digital music space. This device will increase Podcast listenership and force businesses to take a second look at designing websites that will work better on a smaller screen. The iPhone is going to shake things up.

Apple is going to make a huge customer connection with the iPhone. The marketing is dead on target for the person they want to buy. They did a great job. I love the phone and can’t wait to see the version (or the marketing) they come out with when I’m the target customer.

As much as I like the iPhone I do think they failed in one area, they chose AT&T as the initial service provider. I switched to AT&T a year or so ago when they had their no risk try us for 30 days campaign. I hated it. I’ve never dropped so many important calls in my life. I returned the phone well within the 30 days (I think is was more like 10 days) It took over 9 months to get them to stop sending me bills. AT&T’s marketing slogan is, “more bars in more places” which is perfect because after using their service I needed a stiff drink!

This post written from Starbucks in Florham Park, NJ

What kind of Jersey Boy would I be if I didn’t comment on the last episode of The Sopranos?I’ve been a loyal fan since the first edge of your seat episode to the last anti-climactic finale.

First my opinion about the last episode – IT SUCKED! A fade to black?!? Are you friggin kidding me?!?  Don’t stop believing? That’s not the theme song for the end of a legendary mob show! That’s the ending song for something starring Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn. So the message is that we can “believe” whatever we want. Can you get any less creative then letting the audience figure it out for themselves? What a cop-out.

I’m a HUGE Seinfeld fan and thought the last episode of one of my all time favorite shows was, well, bad. After seeing the ending of the Sopranos, the Seinfeld finale has skyrocketed to pure genius!

I feel like a weight has been lifted – I feel better having gotten this off my chest. Now, as a marketer I think I know why this happened. The writers lost their connection with their customers – us. They wrote what they wanted not what we needed. Just like Volkswagen did with the Phaeton (read earlier post) they stopped trying to understand what we wanted and why we loved the show to begin with.

We watch the Sopranos to become part of a world that 99% of the country knows nothing about. It’s adult fantasy, role play for grownups; we get to be armchair mobsters. As much as we would never want to see anything depicted on screen happen in real life, we do derive a level of excitement from seeing it unfold from the safety of our living rooms.

Two seasons ago at the height of Sopranos popularity the New Jersey based writers were fired and replaced by a writing team in California. BIG MISTAKE! The allure of the show was that “Jersey” connection; after all, that’s what we’re known for here in the Garden State, Mobsters and toll booths.

The show took a terrible tailspin when the new writers took over, goofy storylines started to appear. Christopher going Hollywood, Vito and Johnny-Cakes (uuugghhh) and the unbearable amount of time spent on AJ’s personality swings. This is not what we want to see. The west coast writers apparently thought we wanted to watch a soap opera and not a show about Jersey mob life.

As much as we don’t like to admit it we watch this show for the “shot out of a cannon” excitement, the violence, the back stabbing, lying, cheating and all that goes along with it. We get to be part of things far removed from our lives. Water coolers everywhere were abuzz with “whack-chat”. Who got whacked, where they were whacked, how they were whacked and why? We love whacking!

Gone were the days of Ralphie Cifaretto smashing his stripper girlfriends head into a guardrail and Richie Aprile running down (twice!) Peter “Beansie” Gaeta with his car. What was all this great mob action replaced with? CLEAVER! I’m glad the show ended, what would have been next, Tony eating a pie at Papa Johns!?!

Yes Phil Leotardo got whacked and had his head squashed like a cantaloupe but that was the only real action the entire episode, plus I’ve seen Criss Angel do that!

You may have another opinion (feel free to comment) about the last appearance of Jersey’s favorite family, you’re entitled, wrong but entitled.

When you lose your connection to your customers you create what you want as opposed to what they want and your business, just like the end of the Sopranos, may just fade to black.

There was one redeming part of the last episode that did make it worth watching. I think I actually learned the secret to livng a happy and prosperous life. Do you remember the part where

It’s easy to make a judgment about anything if you just look on the” surface”. What’s below the surface is typically not as easy to see or even understand much less identify opportunity. Microsoft has introduced a new way of computing called “Surface”. On the surface, “Surface” is an extremely cool technology. Quite possibly the coolest I’ve ever seen. I was mesmerized while I watched the video demonstrations on the “Surface” website. Once the wow factor was gone I immediately began identifying marketing opportunities for this new technology. Microsoft has identified targets for “Surface” such as hotels, bars, restaurants etc. After pondering for awhile you can easily think of hundreds of marketing and practical uses for this technology. One thought is in the entrepreneur space. Surface may bring back the short-lived “Internet Cafes” that popped up in major cities during the dot-com frenzy and disappeared just as quickly as the money burning business models of the day. “Surface” provides a more social element that was lacking in these café’s and may just be the magic bullet needed to make this seemingly doomed business model a success. 

Dr. Seuss taught us that no matter what or who you are, whether a green headed fudmunkler or a hairy hinkle horn honker you can learn something in the most unsuspecting places if you just keep your eyes open wide and your mind even wider.

I like most have come to rely on email to conduct business. Also like most I have come to accept that more than half of the emails that land in my inbox are spam. Spam email has become an epidemic of sorts. With over 60 billion emails sent by Internet users daily it’s become impossible to sort the worthwhile from the worthless

Similar to the pile of junk postal mail I receive daily (minus the tree killing), it has gotten to the point where the effectiveness of Spam email cannot possibly be more than a fraction of a percent. I mean really, how many online degrees does one guy need? Taking a cue from Dr. Seuss and realizing even the seemingly ridiculous can lead to valuable insight; I took a closer look at Spam email to see what I could learn from it.

The first lesson you learn is that Spam is terribly annoying, interruptive, disruptive and just an all around bad idea when it comes to email marketing. So the first lesson falls under the heading of what not to do. Don’t spam.

Lesson two is a little more intriguing. I began to realize that there were messages contained within the thousands of spam emails that were not only getting through my spam filters but through my minds filter as well. It seems that at will I could remember the top five subjects of the spam email I’m bombarded with daily.

I know where to get the cheapest prescription drugs, the real deal Viagra, how to get women to fall in love with me, get that online degree I’ve always wanted and of course, how to have the best sex of my life (hmmm, maybe this stuffs a little better targeted than I thought?). Why did I remember the subjects of my spam emails yet I cannot remember the messages in the emails I’ve opted in to receive?

So lesson 2 is this – Get to the point with good calls to action.  Spam emails are 100% calls to action. They get to the point, they put the call to action front and center. The spammers know that as soon as you read the first line of text you’re going to delete the message so they literally have a second to catch your attention. By putting the call to action right at the top and getting to the point without fluff they are actually making a connection.

If you follow this same rule of thumb in your email marketing you would make a better connection.  Research shows us that over 75% of email readers do not actually open their email; they read it in the preview pane. Preview panes are very narrow and do not show much information, typically requiring the reader to scroll down. Not in spam email, the message is right there at the top, no need to scroll.

So then why in most legitimate email marketing do we drone on, create fluff and filler. Why don’t we just get to the point and put the call to action right at the top? I mean really, we just want a reader to take away a specific message and take action so why not put the calls to action right in plain site. Call to action first and then marketing fluff.  

We all have the desire to say more than the average person has time to hear. Sometimes we write just because we feel we have more to say but the fact is, the faster we can get to the point the better it is for the reader. They get the message, take action and get on with their day and hopefully your respect for their time leads to a long and mutually successful relationship.

So take it from me if you’d like to be a successful email hum doodler. Get to the point and stop droning on like a purple waz banging wiz noodler.