Guest Post on Wired PR Works - Why No Humor?

What a coincidence - two guest posts in one day! Barbara Rozgonyi is running my post Why Don’t Companies Use Cartoons in Their Marketing? today.

Take a look - I think there’s even a cartoon!

Thanks, Barbara. Hope you’re enjoying Vegas.

How Do You Get Sales and Marketing on the Same Page?

It’s a vexing question, but one that every company needs to answer. When Sales goes east and Marketing goes west, results go south.

Of all the ways to align sales and marketing I’ve seen or tried, this seems to work best.

Make Up Your Mind to Make Some News

Here’s a guest post from my blogger friend Barbara Rozgonyi. We met recently at a suburban Chicago Tweetup, and found out we have a lot in common, including a conviction that press releases and public relations should be part of every company’s marketing mix. I’m so glad Barbara is here to explain why that’s the case!

Make Up Your Mind to Make Some News

It’s time to make some news, about you and your business. And, if you’re like most businesses you have a problem with that. Sure, you’re okay with spending money on advertising. Yes – of course! – you…

Which Single Word Defines Your Business?

What is your company all about? Where does it all start? Can you boil down what you do to one word?

For me, the one word is “connecting”. Connecting ideas, connecting words, connecting people.

If you had to describe your business to a potential customer in one word, what would it be?

(Attention Seinfeld fans — Photo taken by my daughter at the Nexus of the Universe.)

What Parenting Has Taught Me about Copywriting

Parenting is a learning experience. Lately it’s dawned on me that parenting can teach us a lot about copywriting, especially in terms of persuasion and education. Here’s what I mean.

Repetition is required. If I had a nickel dime quarter for every time I thought, “Well, I guess you’re going to have to learn it the hard way,” I’d be able to retire, or at least coast. The positive effect of repetition is measured in years, perhaps decades. Likewise, sending out 6 or 12 e-newsletters won’t get it done. Think in terms of 24 or 36.

Don’t mince your words. Subtlety nuanced messaging is lost…

Fabulously Instructive Branding and Marketing Posts

Personal Development. Maximillian Kaizen talks about how tenacity makes genius. “Great ideas are cheap and plentiful. Those who will actually work to make sure they happen, precious few.”

Branding. Two small branding techniques that produce big results from Stephan Spencer — a signature line and a personal photo.

What I Learned From Mother Robin

When I was a young boy, our family lived in a cozy, red brick house with white shutters in a small and sleepy Midwestern town. Summer was my favorite time of year. At bedtime, which was right around dusk, my mother would throw open my bedroom window, and I’d fall asleep listening to the rustling leaves of the giant maple tree just outside.

Our neighborhood was full of kids about my own age. In the summertime we’d squeeze every moment out of the day playing together, getting into as much trouble as grade school children could. The back yards we’d cut…

nano Contest Results!!

Thanks to everybody for participating in Word Sell’s 8 Gig iPod nano giveaway! A big, special thanks to Robert Hruzek, Robyn McMaster, Jeanne Dininni, Joanna Young, and Jacob Share for hyping the contest even though more participants meant a lesser chance of winning the iPod nano (which Mr. Hruzek shrewdly observed in one of his posts).

It never ceases to amaze me how people can look into the crystal ball and come up with so many exciting and unique meanings and interpretations. So what did everybody see in my little cartoon? Here are all the entries.

Darlene McDaniel saw a clear lesson for managers on communication.

Bob…

Is Your Sidebar a Salad Bar?

Patience has never been one of my virtues, but today’s slow loading Web pages - especially blog home pages - would test the patience of Job.

As blogging has grown in popularity, so has it grown in complexity. Side bars have become salad bars. Badges, banners, buttons, and widgets, widgets everywhere. Recommendations, links, awards, events, comment displays, stat counters, ads, ads, and more ads. Page loading has slowed to a crawl.

Singing the Slow Page Loading Blues

Now, I’m not trying to monetize my blog particularly, so it’s easy for me to be a sidebar minimalist. However, I wonder how many readers abandon…

Worst Bad Sales Habits, Part 2 - A Freeze on Cold Calls

Most sales people would rather jump into a cold Lake Michigan than jump into a day of cold calls. When reps start their careers, they make colds call because they have to. Over time, as they build a base, the urgency of cold calling fades. A day of cold calling becomes half a day. Then it becomes a hit or miss affair. There’s plenty of excuses …

• I’m too busy taking care of customers.
• I’m selling more to my existing customers.
• My customers are getting busier, so they’ll buy more.
• I’ll make cold calls next week.

But next week never comes, and one day, three…

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