Entries from September 2006 ↓

Window Well Covers is a term I have been following a lot lately because I have been working with a company that manufactures them in Utah.

There are many kinds of window well covers, including steel covers, bubble covers, basement covers and egress window well covers. It’s amazing how many people who have basements and large window wells actually don’t have covers to protect their families.

MarketingExperiments Journal has posted some great research findings online about how a PR campaign they did with Politis Communications was 56.3 percent less expensive than PPC for one site and 21.4 percent less expensive for another site. But that’s not all, the campaigns were also much more effective.

“However, the superior short-term ROI on press releases is just the beginning of the story.

In addition to delivering thousands of new visitors at a very low cost per visit…

PR will result in hundreds or even thousands of new links to your site. PPC will not.
PR will result in follow-up articles and interviews. PPC will not.
PR will result in invitations to speak and write. PPC will not.
PR can build your brand quickly and extensively through exposure on network TV and in national publications. PPC will not.

In short, our tests lead us to believe that PR is extraordinarily under-utilized in the online industry, and that companies should conduct their own tests internally to determine both the short-term and longer-term benefits of PR.”

MarketingSherpa has an interesting article about a company that regularly gets 70 percent click-through rates on its newsletter. “Don’t tell people what to do; instead, give them hands on help to do it. . . If this (the content) does not maintain high perceived value for the audience, if it’s not different enough, if it’s not digestible, we don’t publish it.”

Something to think about for all us bloggers.

My wife and I went to Cafe Rio last night and had an interesting experience that reminded me of something Seth Godin would write about.

We both ordered the salmon taco dinner, which comes with a taco and a drink. Somehow if you order an extra taco you no longer qualify under the “one taco = free drink” category. Make sense? It didn’t make sense to us either, but I have to credit the girl at the register who explained it to us and gave us the drink anyway. Sometimes, they just give it to you no questions asked. Sometimes they don’t give it to you unless you make mention of it. So, why have “the rule” when the customer always gets the drink anyway? Why make the customer even ask?

photo credit: dontbecreepy

“If the marketing messages you send are anticipated, relevant, and personal, they will cut through the clutter and increase the prospect’s knowledge of the benefits you offer.” Seth Godin, Permission Marketing.

I’m working on a project right now that pertains to this, and the “anticipated” is the toughest part. It’s easy to learn enough information about your audience to make it relevant, and if you have the information you need to make it relevant you can make it personal.

Here’s the trick. The information (name, title, email, etc… or whatever) needs to be given voluntarily and the person needs to remember giving it. At that point, you’re good to go on the road to trust, and people buy from and do business with people they trust.

photo credit: katmere

I got curious about how many videos there are on YouTube tagged “public relations,” and I found 102.

Here’s my favorite . . .

This gem comes from a guy who prank calls YouTube’s PR person. He pretends to be a southern guy who can’t seem to get YouTube via his cable package. “I’ve HBO, Cinemax . . . I’ve got all the shows, but I cannot . . . I don’t know what station YouTube is?” She proceeds to try and end the call quickly, and tells him he needs to get the Internet, but he persists . . . hilarious. “Oh there’s the deal breaker, I’m going to need a computer too.”

I’ve seen an influx of “5 reasons” or “7 ways” lists recenly on people’s blogs. I’m a guilty party myself. So, I thought I would do a little something different today as I make my first blog post from my new black macbook.

As you can see, it’s titled “One reason I chose mac instead of a PC.”

Here’s the one reason; in my opinion, the mac is simply just a better computer. (And you can make great photos with it as well).

I think Apple still has challenges though because even someone like me who wants a mac still hesitates on the purchase because of fear that I won’t be able to sync with other computers at the office. Who helped push me over the edge? Other mac users. The Apple Army. The switch is the hurdle, but I am happy with it already only two hours into using it.

No PR thoughts today. Just baseball. My other love (after a few other things like my wife).

Pennant race collapses via SI.com

photo credit: oneservant2go