tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43485601849658464752024-02-18T20:50:10.263-08:00A Good MindA semi-regular rant on marketing and communications topics.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-41104412273233203792013-03-28T10:41:00.002-07:002013-03-28T10:41:51.330-07:00Are You Entitled?PR maven Peter Shankman recently penned an excellent article that issues a stern warning to people who feel entitled. Although it was aimed at college students who will soon be seeking their first "career" job, Peter's five points apply equally to those of us who are charging head first through life. Take a few minutes to read "Entitlement: Your Biggest Flaw" (<a href="http://shankman.com/entitlement-kills/">http://shankman.com/entitlement-kills/</a>) and see if any of the warning signs apply to you.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-22904646413739140282013-02-08T12:53:00.000-08:002013-02-08T12:53:44.178-08:00"I now pronounce you man and Dodge."Interesting new twist to automotive marketing from Dodge.<br />
<br />
The Chrysler division is trying to promote their new Dodge Dart (which is really just an old Alfa Romeo) as a smart, hip and cool car for the twenty-something crowd. As part of the effort, they have hit upon a unique solution to the barrier of ownership that many young people have - money.<br />
<br />
Instead of touting low finance rates or steep discounts, Dodge is telling their target audience that they can actually get other people to buy a new Dart for them! How awesome is that!<br />
<br />
Dodge has set up a website (<a href="http://www.dodgedartregistry.com/">www.dodgedartregistry.com</a>) that mimics a wedding registry. Wannabe Dart owners simply ask family and friends to log on and "buy" certain parts of the vehicle, like wheels, seats or the engine. Accumulate enough gift givers and you can reduce the retail price of the vehicle. It is a new, personal form of crowdsourcing.<br />
<br />
While I sincerely doubt I would contribute to somebody else's new car (at least not while I am still making monthly payments on my own salt-encrusted Jeep), I must give the folks at Dodge credit for creative thinking. Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-5583405135750480462013-01-23T07:39:00.000-08:002013-01-23T07:39:22.861-08:00A Business Lesson from Jack ReacherI am a big fan of the Jack Reacher series of novels written by Lee Child. The title character is a hulking ex-Military Policeman who resolves problems with a combination of intimidation and clever observation. So when the announcement was made that a Jack Reacher motion picture was in the works, I was excited. But when it was announced that Tom Cruise would play the lead role, I began to fret.<br />
<br />
How could the 5'7" Cruise possibly portray the menacing 6'5", 240 lb. Reacher? I worried that Hollywood was about to ruin another excellent book. <br />
<br />
My fears were unfounded. Cruise pulls off the character flawlessly. As the books' author, Lee Child, commented, Jack Reacher's power does not come only from his large size, but from the presence he creates with his wits, intellect and aggressiveness. Despite his small stature, Cruise captured the essence of Jack Reacher.<br />
<br />
There is a business lesson here. Size does not always matter.<br />
<br />
How many of us have made business decisions based on the "safety" of a company's size? It could be choosing a home contractor because they have more trucks, a law firm because they have more partners, or a "big box" retailer because they are, well, bigger.<br />
<br />
But bigger is not necessarily better. A smaller business that approaches their work with intelligence, passion and energy can often provide a much better product, service or experience. In many instances, smaller companies are more nimble and responsive.<br />
<br />
I resolve not to judge a business by its size, but to assess the potential benefits and advantages the company can offer by being smart, creative and focused. Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-87444224375661164802012-10-04T07:54:00.000-07:002012-10-04T07:55:55.429-07:00Cold Reception for KitchenAid TweetIn case you have been too busy to notice all the furor, a Tweet went out during the Presidential debate from the #KitchenAid corporate Twitter account that was quite disrespectful to President Obama's deceased grandmother. (You can read more about it <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/kitchenaid-tweet-obama-dead-grandmother-brings-apology-130031473.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) <br />
<br />
While every citizen is entitled to voice his or her opinion about politics and politicians, it is inconceivable that a business would allow such a message to be released via a corporate communications channel. There is no question about whether or not a political message might offend a customer or potential customer - it is <i><b>certain</b></i> to offend somebody. All the apologies and backtracking in the world will not make this problem go away anytime soon for KitchenAid.<br />
<br />
What can a business learn from KitchenAid's pain?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Stay away from politics - national, local or global - in your social media engagements. You can't win enough friends to offset those you will lose. </li>
<li>Filter everything. </li>
<li>Filter it again. </li>
<li>Don't put control of your social media in the hands of some young hotshot who may understand the technology but does not have a clue about the message. </li>
<li>Have a strict, written social media policy.</li>
<li>Develop a core message about the corporation, your products and services that serves as the basis for all messaging, including advertising, public relations and social media. This helps avoid the problem of someone trying to be "hip and cool" only to see it blow up in your face.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Time will probably heal the burns KitchenAid has suffered as a result of their damaging Tweet. It is up to the rest of us to benefit from their mistake to help us avoid making our own.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-47513262523215555272012-09-18T06:28:00.000-07:002012-09-18T06:28:19.216-07:00Avoiding "Nontent"In an article for socialmediatoday.com, copywriter Barry Feldman chides marketers who refuse to take risks with the information they publish. He points a warning finger at those who follow all the rules and are afraid to stand out from the crowd for fear of offending someone. He calls this <b><i>"nontent." </i></b><br />
<br />
Is "nontent" what you are publishing to represent your company or cause? Are you focused on filling every web page with keywords surrounded by bland text. Are you taking the time to publish <i>killer</i> copy, or settling for <i>filler</i> copy?<br />
<br />
Feldman also writes, "<em>"When you turn some people off, you turn some people on." </em>You can't please everyone, so you might as well attempt to capture the attention of those who are attuned to something different and a little out of the ordinary. <br />
<br />
Our motto here at Scribendi addresses this same issue: <i><b> If you want people to be interested, be interesting.</b></i> That applies to your products or services, your own personality, and the public personality of your business that is seen and perceived in your marketing.<br />
<br />
Do something different. Develop a "voice" for your business that is fresh, exciting and different. Don't allow yourself to fall into the rut of expectations to become just another option among many. Be the expert and share your knowledge. Set a tone that sets you apart. By any means necessary avoid wasting your money and your audience's time by publishing "nontent."Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-19131509470701406222012-09-10T06:36:00.000-07:002012-09-10T12:48:13.114-07:00Are You a "Back In" Parker?As I was finishing up my early morning working at a local high school track today the teachers were starting to arrive for the school day. A significant majority of the teachers drove into the parking lot and took the time to back into a parking spot. It was pretty clear that they were preparing to make a quick exit at the end of the day.<br />
<br />
What kind of message does this send to students? Administrators? Are teachers so stressed that they need to escape as quickly as possible? What about students who need to stay late for help with subjects in which they are struggling? Perhaps the teachers intent on "working to contract" and not willing to give one minute more than required.<br />
<br />
How many of us have the same attitude? It is simple to just put in the time and get through the day, checking out when the clock says it is OK to exit. But that might not be what is best for an employer, or a career, or your customers.<br />
<br />
Check your own "parking" routine. Do you arrive at work in the morning and start counting the hours until lunchtime? Do you spend the afternoon thinking about your commute home? Do you think Mondays are simply awful because they are too far away from Friday?<br />
<br />
This sort of "get it done and over with" attitude can even affect the boss. Certainly we are all more stressed and piled high with work. Studies show that American productivity is at an all time high. But that does not excuse work that is rushed, shoddy or just good enough to get by.<br />
<br />
Let's face it: none of us will ever again have plenty of time to accomplish our work. Which makes it all the more important that we focus on doing the best job we can, no matter how small or large the task. No more backing in. Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-72366876247005703012012-07-27T08:10:00.000-07:002012-07-27T08:10:04.457-07:00The Marketing Decathlon<style>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4348560184965846475" name="_GoBack"></a>With the
2012 Olympic Games underway in London, I am eagerly looking forward to the
track & field competition. I am especially anticipating the decathlon, the
ten-event, two-day competition to determine “the world’s greatest athlete.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I competed in the decathlon in my younger
(and faster) days, so I understand the focus, talent and dedication each
decathlete must have to succeed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Because the
decathlon is scored on points based on an athlete’s performance, you can
actually win the overall event without winning a single one of the ten
component events. To succeed you don’t have to be the very best at any one
thing, but you need to be very good at all things in order to accumulate the
maximum number of points.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The same can
be said for marketing. There are so many channels of communications available
today that a marketing professional must become proficient in a wide variety of
“events.” You don’t need to be the world’s greatest writer, or graphic
designer, or publicist. But you must be very good at these tasks and more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here is my
list if events in the “marketing decathlon”:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Strategic Marketing Planning</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Website Development</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Social Media </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Advertising – traditional and electronic</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>E-mail Marketing</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Direct Marketing</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Public Relations</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Blogging</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Event Marketing</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Graphic
Design</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
These
individual “events” are all important components of a well-balanced marketing
program. A marketer may be called on to perform in any or all of these
disciplines for a client, and often must tackle the full range in the course of
a single day! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Does your
company’s marketing plan incorporate all ten marketing decathlon events? If
not, identify the holes in the program and work to create a plan that is
complete so that you can compete for the gold.</div>Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-47090577261207060562012-06-15T15:24:00.000-07:002012-06-15T15:24:31.609-07:00Marketing Technology Can Be CoolWatching the U.S. Open golf tournament on-line (in between working diligently for my clients, of course). Absolutely fascinated by the banner ad for Rolex , which shows a nice graphic of one of their beautiful watches with the time set in synch with the current time in my viewing area. Very subtle, but very cool.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMpkrZ3ZrQkGZmvVdcN_VuYBJNM8iB_txYApGdzq3a9JH-pB8rDYQ42_heCQf8CGghLaHHPH2FGbI78StS9Y3QAICwSFYQ0egeyVJeNCKuGZHJNcnaC8evYKJNf286cLSGHtHAY2MfR8/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-06-15+at+6.22.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="54" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMpkrZ3ZrQkGZmvVdcN_VuYBJNM8iB_txYApGdzq3a9JH-pB8rDYQ42_heCQf8CGghLaHHPH2FGbI78StS9Y3QAICwSFYQ0egeyVJeNCKuGZHJNcnaC8evYKJNf286cLSGHtHAY2MfR8/s400/Screen+shot+2012-06-15+at+6.22.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-35658399042111581152011-12-09T13:14:00.001-08:002011-12-09T13:24:59.616-08:00Why SEO is Not EnoughAll of you SEO junkies out there, pay attention. It is great that your website has made it to the first page of Google. I am very happy for you.<br />
<br />
But high search engine rankings don't mean anything unless they generate a click through to your website.<br />
<br />
A visit to your website doesn't mean anything unless it generates a sale or captures a sales lead.<br />
<br />
A sales lead doesn't mean anything unless you follow it up within 72 hours, after which it is dead and gone.<br />
<br />
My point is this: You can't focus on a single aspect of Internet marketing to the exclusion of other, equally important parts of the equation. All of them have to be working together in order to create action that matters.<br />
<br />
Good keywords, on-site/off-site SEO and a strong AdWords campaign all lead to site visits. Valuable information and good conversion tools on your website leads to the capture of actionable data. Prompt and targeted follow up leads to an opportunity to create a customer.<br />
<br />
Shortcuts and half measures will only cost you time, money and credibility. With 8 out of every 10 consumers using the web to search for information and resources before making a purchase, you can't afford to get it wrong.<br />Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-83493177015358766922011-12-02T12:04:00.001-08:002011-12-02T12:22:07.303-08:00Why Talbot's is Destined to Fail.For those of you who have no contact at all with females, Talbot's is an upscale women's clothing retailer that markets a "classic" look through stores and on-line.<br />
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Very tasteful. Very elegant. Very much in trouble in today's marketplace. <br />
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A report in today's Boston Globe cites yet another decline in third quarter sales at Talbot's, which is especially damaging leading into the critical holiday shopping season. In response to this news, Talbot's president Trudy Sullivan took the bold step of suspending all advertising immediately.<br />
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Huh? People are not coming into your stores or shopping you on-line, and your bright idea to fix the situation is to pull your head in like a turtle ducking into its shell? Sorry, Trudy, but that is not enlightened leadership. As cookie baron Wally Amos once said, "Cutting advertising to save money is like slashing your wrists to relieve high blood pressure."<br />
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If the only expense remaining to be slashed is marketing and advertising, your company is beyond saving. Call Gordon Brothers and organize the going-out-of-business sale right away. <br />
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Maybe if you had better advertising you would not be in the deep trench you currently occupy. For a retailer it is not enough to simply put a message out and hope for the best. You need immediate response to make the cash registers ring. Clearly your ad campaign has not delivered.<br />
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Obviously, advertising alone did not sink Talbot's, nor can you reasonably expect it to rescue the company. A toxic combination of changing styles, the poor economy, a confusing marketing message, and over reliance on discounting is what poisoned the well. I think Talbot's simply could not decide what it wanted to be when it grew up, and as a result you alienated loyal customers while never pulling in the younger buyers you wanted. <br />
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So go ahead and cut all the advertising. Save up that money to pay for the big, bold "Final Clearance" posters that will soon be showing up in your otherwise tastefully decorated windows. I know many well dressed women who will miss Talbot's.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-47797928518409917212011-10-28T12:16:00.000-07:002011-10-28T12:16:02.727-07:00Content, content, content!A new article by Mikal Belicove posted to the Entrepreneur magazine website provides a concise description of and case for "content marketing." You can read it here: <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220587?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+entrepreneur%2Flatest+%28Entrepreneur+Update%29">http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220587?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+entrepreneur%2Flatest+%28Entrepreneur+Update%29</a><br />
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Content marketing is nothing new. For more than 20 years I have been urging clients to "share what you know" through newsletters, interviews and by-line articles. Newer channels such as blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn simply make the delivery process more direct and immediate.<br />
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If you don't have content to share with your customers and prospects, it may be time to step back from "empty" marketing and reassess what you have to offer and how you can beef up the validity of your marketing message.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-78906997352852570672011-07-14T13:29:00.000-07:002011-07-14T13:29:37.702-07:00Speaking with ConvictionWhy don't we say what we mean? Speak our mind? Tell it like it is? <br />
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This clip set to the words of poet Taylor Mali (and put into type by Ronnie Bruce) is an interesting and compelling call to action. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/3829682">http://vimeo.com/3829682</a>Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-47014749321499417122011-06-23T07:56:00.000-07:002011-06-23T07:56:34.294-07:00Advertising Fights Crime!Why did it take the FBI 16 years to discover that advertising actually works? All the power of the country's leading criminal investigative apparatus was unable to locate Whitey Bulger, one of the most notorious crime bosses of our time. Yet a few days of television ads led to the tip that brought police right to Whitey's California door. <br />
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(All of this assumes, of course, that the FBI was REALLY looking for Mr. Bulger. The Feds may have had a great deal of incentive to keep Whitey on the "missing" list. But that is a story for another time.)<br />
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Chalk this one up as a victory for the power of an appealing advertising message!Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-10441220006197212072011-06-16T15:04:00.000-07:002011-06-16T15:04:40.452-07:00Delta's Black EyeDelta Air Lines got caught charging active duty military personnel steep fees for checked bags that contained their "work" gear and equipment. This is wrong on a couple of levels. <br />
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(Full disclosure: I have a son in the U.S. Army who, to my knowledge, has not been subject to a Delta bag fee. But he could have been.)<br />
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First, what is going on when the U.S. military forces its personnel to schlep their combat gear around on a civilian air line? What happened to the Air Force and military flights? When I last checked we were paying north of $300 billion per year to fund the military. Not enough to keep a few planes in the air? C'mon.<br />
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But the more immediate problem is Delta's. Their gaffe was a case of somebody following the rules to the letter, at the cost of causing embarrassment for the entire company. Are the bag fees posted? Yes. Did the soldiers' bag fall under the fee rules? Yes. <br />
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Was it a good idea for Delta to shake down a soldier who was tired, dusty and desperately trying to get home after a year in the war zone? No. <br />
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After they got caught, Delta did the right thing and changed their bag fee policy for active duty military personnel. And, hopefully, squared things with those who had been charged. <br />
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I sincerely hope that Delta's slip up was a case of an overzealous manager who was afraid to break the rules. If so, Delta needs to spend a little more time training their people on presenting a good company image at all times. And that goes beyond a neat uniform and winning smile. A ticketing agent with a little intelligence and some leeway could have easily prevented the PR problem by waiving the excessive bag fee for a soldier, sailor or airman. <br />
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However, if it turns out that Delta knew about the problem and condoned it in order to make a few bucks, that would trouble me deeply. I think the military's travel planning arm should look into this incident more thoroughly. If Delta was cashing in on military travelers, the government should look to other carriers in the future.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-9420765044603668332011-05-09T08:36:00.000-07:002011-05-09T08:36:06.047-07:00Speed ThrillsOne of the influences that the explosion of social media has generated is the speed at which information is disseminated. If you are a marketer you cannot ignore this new paradigm.<br />
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Those of us old enough to remember when printed communications were a marketing staple may fondly recall that developing, producing and distributing a brochure, advertisement or direct mail piece was a process that took weeks or months. It required advanced planning and coordination, significant resources and lots of patience. <br />
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That's gone. Now you can have an idea over breakfast, craft the message by lunch, distribute in the afternoon and start measuring results before the evening meal is on the table. In fact, customers are coming to expect this sort of instant communication.<br />
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This incredible acceleration in the process is wonderful for marketers. Or is it? <br />
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With such a short cycle to work with, there is no time for consideration or deliberation. There is barely time for editing. Which means that, from time to time, the message that goes out is going to be less than compelling, misdirected, or perhaps even damaging. <br />
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Speed must not be a substitute for effectiveness. Just look at the news media professionals and politicians who rushed to announce that they had viewed the "real" photos of Osama Bin Laden after he was killed; only to find out that the photos were fake. In their rush to be first, the talking heads and eager pols allowed themselves to be duped - willingly so, it seems. <br />
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So when you get that great idea at breakfast, make sure you stand back and assess it with a critical eye. If it passes muster, take the time to craft the message so that it will be accurate, compelling and effective. Only then should it be released. It may take a little longer to enter the communications stream, but the end result should be more to your liking.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-12557180608590279962011-02-23T11:44:00.000-08:002011-02-23T11:47:24.824-08:00Coffee Heaven! Dunkin Donuts Coming to K-Cups<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjID0vYH1rDPuOdFkr88vWoH8lfnmTz9QXeSAchikvIu3zLOSfxi5q7lTF9irVdDh6Rs5R_WUgho1VyZ2VMUTHQ4CsChIcrdbHKF9CCnpRwQP9pbEROKL-L_Rj177iFXSB0OgZYkWB2U/s1600/coffee+to+go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjID0vYH1rDPuOdFkr88vWoH8lfnmTz9QXeSAchikvIu3zLOSfxi5q7lTF9irVdDh6Rs5R_WUgho1VyZ2VMUTHQ4CsChIcrdbHKF9CCnpRwQP9pbEROKL-L_Rj177iFXSB0OgZYkWB2U/s200/coffee+to+go.jpg" /></a></div>My work is fueled by fear and coffee, so I was particularly excited to read about plans to make Dunkin Donuts coffee available for the Keurig home brewing system, as appeared in today's <a href="http://tinyurl.com/4e8nmuv">Boston Globe</a>. <br />
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Even though I love my Keurig and invest heavily in a healthy supply of K-cups, I still find myself regularly pulling into the Dunkin Donuts drive through for a cup of the "good stuff." Now I can reduce my carbon footprint by cutting back all that driving time, while sitting back with a steaming cup of Dunkin coffee in the comfort of my own perpetually messy office. <br />
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The question is, will the Dunkin Donuts K-Cups ship complete with glazed donuts? And where can I find a supply of styrofoam cups and plastic lids?Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-86380603687465359262011-01-31T17:40:00.000-08:002011-01-31T17:40:38.924-08:00Rhetoric, But in a Good WayI am reading a new book and, even though I am not even halfway through, I wanted to share my excitement with you. The book is "Farnsworth's Classic English Rhetoric," by Ward Farnsworth, a law professor at Boston University (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/6kt4mov">http://tinyurl.com/6kt4mov</a>).<br />
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Rhetoric has taken a lot of abuse in recent years. The term "political rhetoric" has taken on a slanderous meaning that has tainted the true meaning of the word. Merriam-Webster defines rhetoric as, "the art of speaking or writing effectively." Previous generations learned rhetoric as an important part of a liberal arts education. But the "art of rhetoric" seems to be slipping away in an age of 140 character tweets and microscopic attention spans. <br />
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Which is why I am so enjoying Farnsworth's book. I make my living with words, and have great admiration for those writers and speakers who have the ability to make words, phrases and sentences bend and dance to their desired purposes. "Classic English Rhetoric" is filled with sparkling examples of the English language at its best. <br />
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There are passages from Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, G.K. Chesterton -- the list goes on. Each drafted to inspire, entice and encourage action. The kind of writing that is all too rare today, but to which I constantly aspire. <br />
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I know it is not the latest Harry Potter, or Stephen King, or John Grisham. But if you get a chance to pick up a copy of "Farnsworth's Classic English Rhetoric" I think you may enjoy it as much as I am. All while learning something old that is new again.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-37262194216250911592011-01-10T14:36:00.000-08:002011-01-10T14:36:39.176-08:00Yellow Pages, RIP?The Seattle City Council has passed an ordinance creating a “Yellow Pages Opt-Out System.” Once put into operation, this system will give city residents the option of declining delivery of once-ubiquitous telephone directories. No more phone books crammed into the mailbox or piled at the end of the driveway. <br />
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While the aim of the ordinance may have been to reduce environmental impact and clutter, there is a much deeper message here: the people of Seattle don’t need their phone books anymore.<br />
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Remember Steve Martin’s character in The Jerk,who danced about wildly shouting, “The new phone books are here!”? We really did used to get excited when the thick yellow books were dropped off. That’s how large a part of everybody’s life the Yellow Pages were. No more.<br />
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This does not bode well for those stubborn traditionalist businesses that dedicate large chunks of their marketing budget to phone book ads. I have been in the marketing game long enough to remember ad agencies that worked exclusively on phone book campaigns. <br />
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Why do the residents of Seattle feel comfortable in rejecting this traditional part of every home’s informational system? Think about it. When was the last time you reached for a phone book to look up information on a business? The first option now is to simply Google the company or conduct an on-line search for similar providers. <br />
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I have long argued with clients who continued to sink money into Yellow Pages that the only businesses that needed to advertise there were auto glass companies, plumbers, pizza parlors and personal injury attorneys. Today, even those stalwarts are better served investing in a website with strong SEO. <br />
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As has happened with so many trends that sweep across the nation, I believe that Seattle is leading the way. I think the days are numbered for Yellow Page directories across the country. Don’t forget, Starbucks got its start in Seattle, too.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-24067793747681743842011-01-06T11:13:00.000-08:002011-01-06T15:22:07.531-08:00Think of Social Media as "Networking by Remote Control"Despite the fact that Facebook recently surpassed Google in number of users, many business people are still reluctant to embrace social media. I believe that, for many, it is simply a case of unfamiliarity and a fear of the unknown. Others dismiss <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scribendi/200460086755">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter</a> and other social media channels as frivolous. After all, how serious could these tools be if a teenager can use them?<br />
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Let me try to frame this in a way that "slow to adapt" business professionals might understand. <br />
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Everybody knows that <b><i>networking</i></b> is an important part of marketing, particularly for those in professional services or sales occupations. You may not enjoy it, but you attend Chamber of Commerce meetings, participate in monthly lead sharing groups, show up for industry conferences and exhibit at trade shows; all in an attempt to connect with prospects and referral sources. You've probably developed a pretty good "30-second pitch," and always carry plenty of business cards. <br />
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Now imagine if you could do your networking from the comfort and safety of your office. If you could connect with colleagues, prospects and those all-important "key influencers" as often as you wanted. And if those connections could spread farther and faster than ever.<br />
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That's what social media allows you to do. Take <a href="http://www.linkedin.com">LinkedIn</a>, for example. A profile on LinkedIn is like your 30-second pitch, a brief overview of who you are, what you do, and what you are looking for. With very little effort, in the space of a few hours, you can quickly build a network of known colleagues, which can then spread farther and wider through shared connections. You've just "worked the room" with hundreds, even thousands, of people.<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scribendi/200460086755">Facebook</a>, Twitter and blogging offer similar possibilities, but with the added benefit of being able to share new and interesting information with your broad network of connections, all at the same time. And if you are smart about it, you'll take advantage of all social media channels and link them together, so that a new blog post instantly finds its way to all your LinkedIn connections. <br />
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Inexpensive. Instantaneous. Incredibly effective. What is not to love about social media marketing? Get with the program.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-11458672954261532252010-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:002010-11-30T16:25:52.458-08:00Does Blogging Work for Small and Medium Size Businesses?Aside from its value as a mental exercise and outlet for creativity, does writing a regular blog provide any value for a small or medium size business? The answer is yes.<br />
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A recent study by inbound marketing agency Hubspot (www.hubspot.com) reports that "companies that blog have far better marketing results." The study found that companies that blogged had 55% more visitors to their websites, accumulated 97% more inbound links, and had 434% more indexed web pages. <br />
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Are these important figures? Absolutely. <br />
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More visitors to a website is obviously vital, as it gives a company more opportunity to tell its story and sell its products or services.<br />
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More inbound links increases a website's visibility with search engines, helping the website move up the in the results for keyword searches.<br />
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More indexed pages also increase the chance a search engine will find and report a website. <br />
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What the Hubspot study tells us is clear: if you want your website to be a more active and contributing part of your overall marketing program, you should be blogging on a regular and consistent basis. <br />
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It does not take much to get a blog started. The first post is easy. It is the second and all subsequent blog posts that are difficult! Yet, if you think about it for just a short time, there is plenty about your business to talk about and share. <br />
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Take "Start a blog" off your "to do" list and put it onto your list of regular duties. If you need help starting or maintaining a blog, I'd be glad to help. Shoot me an email to bill@scribendi.net and we can work together to make you a blogger.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-91470491224818110082010-10-28T07:09:00.000-07:002010-10-28T07:09:22.869-07:00Why We Hate Political AdsWith less than a week to go until election day, it is impossible to avoid the barrage of political advertising. It assaults us through our television sets and radio speakers, in our mailboxes, on our computer screens and over the telephone. And most of the messages we get are blatant “attack ads” that are misleading at best and can be downright vicious.<br />
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I hate them. You hate them. The politicians claim to hate them. <br />
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So why do attack ads continue to be the core of political advertising? I have several theories. <br />
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First, they work. Those voters who are savvy enough and involved enough in the political process can usually see right through the rhetoric and bombast. But, at the risk of sounding elitist, a large number of voters are not sophisticated enough to separate the wheat from the chaff. They register as “fact” the slams and slanders that pass for messaging. The polls reflect this, as numbers rise and fall with the waves of vile advertising. <br />
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(Don’t get me started on the pimping of the pollsters. Suffice it to say that Mark Twain was right when he said that “figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”)<br />
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Another reason attack ads remain important to candidates is that they are an easy way to avoid taking a real stand on issues. Instead of telling voters what they believe in and what they will do if elected, candidates can get away with focusing on how much worse it would be if their opponents were to win. <br />
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Attack ads are also easy to develop. Instead of crafting content that inspires the electorate, all the copywriter has to do is carefully cut and paste snippets of the opponent’s previous speeches until they paint a portrait that is sure to frighten voters to choose the “safe” candidate.<br />
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The political process, spurred by the media, has devolved into an ugly, mud-spattered wrestling match in which almost all candidates come out sullied. Don’t be taken in by this hucksterism. Take the time to dig deep and try to discover the core beliefs of the candidates on your ballot. Remember you’ll be stuck with the person you elect, at least until the next round of name calling and character assassination begins in a few years.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-9498634338539106802010-10-22T10:06:00.000-07:002010-10-22T10:06:35.993-07:00Ad Terms We Could Do WithoutAdvertising, like any industry, has its own unique lingo. Since advertising is a business based on creativity, it only stands to reason that our terms are sometimes quite imaginative. Here then, is a collection of the most common advertising phraseology, with a brief translation of each.<br />
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“Can you make the logo bigger?”</b> Roughly translated, this means “We have nothing of any importance or value to say in this ad.”<br />
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<b>“They buried my ad.”</b> This means “I know I spend barely enough on advertising to get a few drops of ink on the newsprint, but does that mean I can't expect to be on the front page?”<br />
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<b>“We're the oldest/biggest/best. . .”</b> In other words, “Our products are outdated, our pricing archaic and our customer base is rapidly being depleted by the grim reaper.”<br />
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<b>“Service is our specialty.” </b> What they're saying is, “You'll need our service because our products are totally unreliable.”<br />
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<b>“It doesn't do anything for me.”</b> Usually means, “I'm spending a fortune on this ad and I'm going to get my money's worth. Give me the Mona Lisa.”<br />
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<b>“What we really need is some publicity.” </b> This means “I don’t want to pay for my advertising.”<br />
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“Its just not us.”</b> Translated: “Where's the picture of me, my family and my factory?”<br />
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<b>“Advertising just doesn’t work for us.” </b> This indicates that the company once ran a two-inch classified ad in a free circulation supermarket newspaper on a Friday in 1993, before leaving for a three-week vacation.<br />
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Listen to yourself carefully the next time you are working with your ad agency. If you hear any of these phrases, stop and back away. Before the agency turns and runs.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-76242618777536041532010-10-06T13:24:00.000-07:002010-10-06T13:24:34.573-07:00Want people to be interested? Be interesting!My clients pay me to communicate their messages in such a way as to cause individuals to respond. The first step in that process is to get people to take notice, an increasingly difficult task in our media-rich world. <br />
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Breaking through the clutter has been the marketer's assignment since the beginning of the profession. How we go about it continues to evolve. <br />
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The best advice I can give my clients is this: If you want people to be interested, you'd better be interesting. <br />
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A marketing message, no matter what the delivery method, must spark your interest, catch your eye and demand your attention. Boring does not cut it. Safe is a snooze. "Tried and true" equals "old and tired." <br />
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Turn the tables for a moment. What captures your attention? Which TV commercials do you like? What does it take to get you to turn up the radio volume in the car? How do you decide which items in the pile of today's mail get read and which get tossed? What is it about a website that gets you to go deeper than the home page?<br />
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Today you must engage the prospect immediately or lose him or her forever. Your message must be smart, memorable and resonate with something that is already "on the radar screen" of the potential customer. You can't force an idea into a closed mind, so you must find an opening that already exists.<br />
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The message must zero in on the self-interest of the individual or it will be ignored. Yet too many companies are too self-absorbed to do anything more than spout off about themselves and their own interests, which are seldom aligned with the customer's.<br />
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To be successful at attracting interest, you must succeed at being interesting. That means crafting a message that connects with the right prospects, delivered through the right channels, at the right time.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-68246744535312729172010-08-10T07:19:00.000-07:002010-08-10T07:19:03.350-07:00Saying More By Saying Less (continued)(Yes, I recognize the irony in "continuing" to say less! Deal with it.)<br />
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A colleague responded to my last post promoting spareness of language. He reminded me that even Ernest Hemingway struggled with editing his prose, noting, “I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket."<br />
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Papa was being modest. He used the language well. Hemingway is also responsible for what some consider to be the greatest ad copy ever written, one that conveys a novel's worth of information and emotion in just six words: "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn."<br />
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Can you condense your marketing message into six words? Not always possible, but always a good goal.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348560184965846475.post-46612597364482735702010-08-04T07:49:00.000-07:002010-08-04T07:49:43.206-07:00Say More by Saying LessThomas Jefferson was a prolific author and correspondent. His words continue to inspire us today. But he was also well aware of the power of brevity. Jefferson closed one three-page letter to a friend with an apology: "Forgive me for writing such a long letter, but I did not have time to write a shorter one."<br />
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Unfortunately, many writers today cannot keep themselves from rambling, unable or unwilling to pare their thoughts down to the essentials. Jefferson launched the world's greatest nation with a single page, the Declaration of Independence. But your local personal injury attorney needs to blast out a 3,000 word blog every week. Sad.<br />
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We should all follow the example of William Mulholland, the man responsible for developing the remarkable waterworks for the City of Los Angeles early in the last century. Mulholland was asked to speak at the dedication ceremony for a 233-mile aqueduct that brought water from the Colorado River across the desert to the city. When the first stream started to flow out from the aqueduct, Mulholland stepped up to the microphone and commemorated the momentous occasion by saying, "There it is. Take it." <br />
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Fewer and truer words were never spoken.Bill McDonoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127110150398459492noreply@blogger.com0