Comments for Direct Connections

Comment on Citrix Email Campaign Crashes on Takeoff by Ernest Nicastro

Ernest Nicastro — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:01:12 +0000

Well put Howard. Good analysis and commentary right down the line. The Citrix email is a good example of a copywriting assignment being handled by a “wet behind the ears,” inexperienced copywriter with no understanding of what makes for effective direct response copy. Problem is, his or her boss didn’t know either or they wouldn’t have let this mess go out.

Reminds me of a time — at the height of the dotcom boom — when I went in-house for a high-tech company. The organization I worked for used an ASP model to compete against more established companies in a particular sector. My young boss asked me to put together a white paper on the advantages of an ASP over the traditional model. I did some research and found this piece on the web titled, “The USP of ASPs.”

I showed it to him and said something like, “Hey, lots of good information in this piece we can adapt for our paper.” He looked back at me with a somewhat befuddled look on his face and said, “What’s a USP?”

Comment on 7 Lead Gen Techniques I Learned From My Junk Mail by Vic

Vic — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:16:40 +0000

Children are nice, babies are even nicer. And animals, they really give comfort to the viewers. Very comprehensive article.

And oh yah right, dead fish is not a good publication of an animal. I prefer rather a lively cat or a dog.

Comment on Common Email Mistake to Avoid by Cal Dubresson

Cal Dubresson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:55:48 +0000

Good example – made me chuckle.

Data accuracy is a huge problem, and a constant one. The more you have, the harder it is to fix. In some cases, if the task of fixing so much data is too daunting, it’s probably best to leave out the variable fields.

Comment on Webinar Redesign Lifts Response 300% by Howard Sewell

Howard Sewell — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:17:08 +0000

Catherine: absolutely. In this particular case, however, the subject line wasn’t the primary culprit. In general, we recommend subject lines for Webinar invitations contain two things: 1) the offer (i.e. a Webinar), and 2) either the topic (if it sells itself) or a key selling benefit. So for example:

“E2open Webinar: Cut Cycle Times with Lean Supply Chain Management”

“Aberdeen Webinar: How to Measure ROI from Social Media Initiatives”

Comment on Webinar Redesign Lifts Response 300% by Catherine

Catherine — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:40:31 +0000

Besides the design and layout, wouldn’t the subject line also need to be compelling? What kind of subject line do you recommend

Comment on Implementing Marketing Automation: 2 Biggest Regrets by Steven Woods

Steven Woods — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:53:52 +0000

Howard,
A great post, and I definitely agree. What we are talking about is a change in business process, from non-differentiated communication to a model of understanding buyer interests and intents, and communicating (or getting sales involved) accordingly. This means some big changes in people and processes, and technology can only enable it.

The more we can all educate the market on the tough questions to ask, both internally, and of technology providers, the more we minimize missed expectations.

Comment on Is Social Media Wasted on PR Agencies? by Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:37:52 +0000

After looking at this article and mulling it over for a couple of days I realized I’m already doing a lot of what you discuss, albeit on a small scale. I give away e-books, special reports, prep sheets and other items to tradeshow marketers. On some things I look to capture a name and e-mail address; on others I’m just giving it away because people like to get free things with no strings attached.

As a result I’ve been asked to contribute articles to online magazines and blogs; do a regular column on tradeshow marketing; appear on podcasts (I do my own podcast as well) and have even been used as a primary source in an expanded article on Social Media in Exhibitor magazine. Folks have reached out to me to pick my brain on how they can ‘do’ social media because they see me doing it.

Makes me wonder what the hell I could do if I actually had a actual organized plan.

Glad I found your blog – great stuff…(thanks to Steve Farnsworth who pointed me here).

Comment on Is Social Media Wasted on PR Agencies? by John MacDaniel

John MacDaniel — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:56:21 +0000

Howard, well said, and I certainly agree with you. However when I read people talk about engaging, educating, cultivating and nurturing customers and prospects I can’t help but wonder who was doing that before Social Media. In many cases it was the company’s Call Center or Contact Center that was a part of that equation. Who better to engage one’s customers and prospects that the people that currently do it through other channels such as phone calls, emails, and live chat? Eventually internal PR and Marketing departments will most likely feel overwhelmed with the sheer volume of Social Media activity and as with previous channels the Contact Center will be the resource that takes the lead.

Comment on Is Social Media Wasted on PR Agencies? by Howard Sewell

Howard Sewell — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:21:36 +0000

Thanks to everyone for their comments! Glad to hear I’m not alone in my aversion to online PR posing as “social media.”

Comment on Is Social Media Wasted on PR Agencies? by @Iconic88

@Iconic88 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:56:28 +0000

Fantastic read Sir.

This post would rub some people the wrong way, however, your points are hugely relevant and on point.

You’ve intelligently outlined some great points:
1) defined the objectives more for PR.
2) Narrowed it in scope to be more pertinent to the tools used, namely tools for the ’social web’.
3) Asked better questions to answer ‘how’ to quantify the qualitative nature of ‘conversations’ in a coherent manner for businesses.
4) Focused the prism towards measurable objectives.
5) Looked at the entire campaign from the prism of the client.

All agencies can do this. The question is, who is willing to ask better questions within the realms of PR for their client.