07.29.07

The Costcofication of Media

Posted in General at 8:53 pm by Paloma Cruz

I can’t believe I’m doing this, but go to Strumpette’s post on “The Costcofication of Media.” The post, written by an “honored guest,” is very good:

[snip]

Consolidation is inevitable in all commerce. American consumers have discarded all notions of quality, product differentiation and brand allegiance. Consumer goods are purchased at Costco by families queuing up 10-deep with extra-large $350+ cartloads of clothing, food, furniture, electronics, camping gear, tires, “entertainment,” and anything else for which the company has been able to make a profitable deal. It’s easy to vilify Costco and Wal-Mart, but consumer preference for one-stop shopping and the lowest price are obviously key drivers in this.

And so goes the Costcofication of media. As corporate marketing budgets tighten, and internal communications staff is cut, and turned over to junior (read less expensive, more easily abused) people, it is inevitable that corporations will look to outsource more and more communications functions and projects to PR and advertising agencies and marketing firms. Giovanni Rodriguez terms it “a crisis of identity” for agencies. I would call it a crisis of quality for clients. The result is that many corporations have inadvertently chosen to do one-stop shopping for a cart full of generic, low-cost media.

[snip]

Resources:

07.25.07

becoming a better writer

Posted in General at 10:02 pm by Paloma Cruz

I love love love Copyblogger. The recent post 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer is just one example why:

  1. Write.
  2. Write more.
  3. Write even more.
  4. Write even more than that.
  5. Write when you don’t want to.
  6. Write when you do.
  7. Write when you have something to say.
  8. Write when you don’t.
  9. Write all the time.
  10. Keep writing.

07.16.07

a good use of twitter

Posted in General at 11:32 pm by Paloma Cruz

Crisisblogger Gerald Baron writes about how twitter was used to keep an entire family up-to-date on a baby’s arrival:

Amy went into labor during my nephew’s wedding and Geoff was supposed to be a groomsman for his cousin–he got through the pictures but got called to the hospital two hours before the wedding started. We were text messaging him like crazy during the wedding and the reception to get updates on progress. He got tired of responding to everyone’s text messages so he set up a twitter site. With that, he just text messaged his updates once which went to a website that everyone could access. Use your cell phone to distribute content via a site or RSS feeds.

Of all the ego & business reasons I’ve heard for creating a tweet feed, this is the one that made the most sense. Use the technology to update everyone who wants to be updated with timely, need-to-know info.

07.15.07

Tips and tricks for writing copy

Posted in General at 1:42 pm by Paloma Cruz

A roundup of tips, tricks and tools you may find useful as a copywriter.

Learning is a non-stop process, says The Copywriter Underground. “Some jobs you take because they pay the bills. Others offer you something far more important than cash: a chance to learn something new.”

Text formatting is sexy, so says copyblogger. “OK, so maybe it’s not that sexy. But it’s more important than you might think, and it can definitely make your content more appealing.” The post goes on to explain that it’s all about usability, and making your content more appealing to the reader (and more usable, of course).

The rules of writing are important, if only to know when to follow them and when to break them. (Another copyblogger tip.) “Outside of specific professional or academic contexts, writing with a personal style that makes it easier on the reader is more important than pleasing Strunk and White.

That said, I also believe you have to know the rules in order to break them. Plus, there are some errors that you’ll never convince anyone that you did intentionally in the name of style (outside of a joke), and even then some people will still assume you’re dumb.”

Common mistakes (read more for ways to avoid them):

  1. Loose vs. Lose
  2. Me, Myself, and I
  3. Different than vs. Different from
  4. Improper Use of the Apostrophe
  5. Parallelism
  6. i.e. vs. e.g.
  7. Could of, Would of, Should of

Resources:

07.02.07

do it everyday

Posted in General at 10:35 pm by Paloma Cruz

Blog Business World has a very functional and practical list of things you can do everyday to help market your business.

Ideas I use already:

  • Be sure to include your website link on your email signature line. It costs nothing, and can lead to some clicks to your site or blog.
  • Place your website URL, blog URL, and email address on your business cards. It is shocking how many business cards do not contain that vital information.
  • Be part of local community groups and events. Some of your very best customers and company evangelists may be right in your own back yard.
  • Be sure to have lots of good old fashioned business cards with you at every event that you attend. Hand them out freely. If you run out of cards, have more printed with all of your contact information.
  • Always be accessible to the news media for interviews. There is no better free advertising and endorsement and you are propelled to a thought leadership position in your industry immediately.

There are lots others. Worth a read.