Junta42 blog

Why Lease When You Can Buy? - A Case for Content Marketing

We are in the middle of working on a video about content marketing and one of the key phrases we are using is "Why lease when you can buy?"

If you are looking at a car or at a house, their are pros and cons to buying versus leasing (or renting).  To make a decision, first you have to understand the differences between buying and leasing:

"When you buy, you pay for the entire cost of the [asset] regardless of how [much you use it or what you get out of it.] When you lease, you pay for only a portion of [the real asset's cost], which is the part that you 'use up' [while you are occupying it]."

Buying is Creating Your Own Content
Think about that for a second in relation to the creation of content. By creating your own content, publishing it, then distributing it through print and online mechanisms, you've bought yourself an asset. Once you buy it, you could do nothing with it, or distribute the heck out of it.  Regardless, you still pay the same for that asset. Getting ROI out of it is ultimately up to you.

If executed correctly, you can leverage and re-leverage that asset to continually communicate with customers and prospects. The majority of top tier content does not depreciate either (what publishing folks call "evergreen" content), unlike a car. Great content works more like buying a house or property. If it's good and can be found (location), it goes up in value.

Traditional Advertising is Leasing
Although more and more companies are "buying" content, a good portion of marketing budgets are still spent on leasing or renting activities such as print advertising or online banners and buttons. Like in the definition above, you, the marketer, pay a small portion of the true asset cost or value (owned by the publisher or content distributor) for the area that you are "using up" during that particular time.

Since the publisher owns the asset, which is essential the community they bring to the table for your benefit, they have the right to charge you for the space you are taking up.

Now, advertising has its place. We at Junta42 use traditional advertising all the time. But understand that once it's gone, it's gone.  You have paid for renting the space and there is no asset created, in and of itself. The activity generated from the advertising may ultimately create an asset, but the space you occupied with your brief message is essentially worthless after the period of "occupation" is over. Poof...gone.

Why Are More Marketers Buying/Creating Content Today?
It's quite simple if you think about it. As we see more technological advances, the consumer of content has more and more control over what they engage in. In the past, there were limited options (television, radio, newspapers, consumer and trade magazines). Today, a buyer can go to a search engine and find exactly what they are looking for in a second. And, since Google has democratized content, ANY company with good content and a little search engine savvy can distribute it to that targeted buyer. (Here's a good white paper that spells it out from A to Z.)

Content is also worth more today since it is constantly "alive" on the web and available for consumption, even years after it was first distributed.

So, as the value of traditional marketing vehicles declines with the number of media choices increasing, the lower technological barriers for content creation, and greater content accessibility, corporate content marketing becomes more valuable for the same reasons.

Some "To-Do's" for the Traditional Marketer
Don't worry if you still spend a boat-load on traditional marketing.  If you are, you also realize that the tide is moving away from traditional media and you may not be sure what to do next.  Here are a couple easy steps to take:

• Don't go canceling all your traditional print and online advertising (I'm sure you won't). But do leverage those communities to distribute valuable, relevant and compelling content that can entice a behavior. Microsites, white papers, webinars, video shorts are all good ways to engage with a target buyer. IBM, Seimens, and Unilever are all leveraging traditional media outlets with big investments to drive consumers to their own content. Unilever's DegreeRookie content campaign was promoted all over DirecTV this weekend (on channel 116 I believe). Note that they are also leveraging a traditional media outlet (Fox) to get the job done.
• Get serious about content in your organization. The title of Chief Content Officer is starting to pop up in more and more businesses.  Why?  Because content is a strategic marketing device that can drive substantial revenues, so it must be taken seriously. Content is the asset you create that becomes the foundation for your customer relationships. Give ownership to someone that can help guide your content ship. The future of marketing is in the content you create and distribute. Be prepared.

Buy and Build Your House
A great content strategy does not happen overnight, but it's very similar to buying and building your house. The more investment in skilled builders (journalists, content experts, custom publishers), the better your house will look (customer relationships, loyalty and increased sales).

There are always situations where leasing works, but if you can buy the asset of content, and you know that, if done correctly, the asset will grow in value, why would you ever miss out on that opportunity?

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Blogging Lessons Learned and Best Practices - One Year Anniversary

It's been exactly one year since I first started blogging. My first post entitled "Why Content Marketing?" still contains the same concept we've been evangelizing from the start - that businesses have a huge opportunity to grow business by creating their own valuable, relevant and compelling content.

Since I left the real world of business and launched Junta42 last year, the concept of blogging on a consistent, continual basis may be the most rewarding part of what I do.

As 365 days pass, I thought it may be useful to those considering blogging about what has personally happened to my professional and online life, and to what is actually possible. I'm showing this information not to gloat in any way (the statistics aren't nearly Copyblogger worthy) - only to show that you can start from absolute zero and still do amazing things through a consistent and compelling message.

A Few Statistics

• According to Technorati, the Junta42 blog is ranked 38,892 of around the 5,137,428 blogs they measure. There have been 507 blog reactions about the Junta42 blog.
• According to the AdAge Power 150, which ranks the top media and marketing blogs, the Junta42 blog is ranked 221 of 608.
• Alexa, which ranks all the websites in the world, has us ranked as the 102,583rd most popular site in the world (by traffic rankings).
• 190 total posts, 16 trackbacks and 201 total comments.
• LinkedIn connections went from 40 to 499. Much of the additional came through blogging connections.

Beginning bloggers PLEASE NOTE: Even after two to three months of consistent blogging, I would regularly get only five to 10 visitors per day (probably none outside of my family). Today, on an average day, we'll get more than 200. We've had a couple days of over 1,000. It could definitely be better, but the blog has come along way.

Many Surprises

• The biggest surprise, by far, is the number of friends and business relationships I have made directly because of blogging. I've been blessed to communicate with some of the best marketing and publishing minds in the world, including the likes of David Meerman Scott, Rohit Barghava, Newt Barrett, Paul Dunay, Paul Conley, Brian Clark, Lee Odden, Ardath Albee, Patsi Krakoff, Greg Verdino, Hans De Keulenaer and too many others to mention. Many of these relationships have led to business partnerships and projects.  Truly, I never would have expected this to happen just by typing a post into TypePad every other day.
• Because of the blog and its following, it was much easier to launch Junta42 as a business. Would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to do it without one.
• I've been asked to present at a number of in-person events, as well interviewed on podcasts and internet radio shows, which came directly from exposure to the blog.
• Requests for consistent writing assignments came directly from what I was doing on the blog, including About.com, Direct magazine, DMNews and multiple guest blogging posts.
• Content marketing, which as a phrase was pretty much nonexistent when I started the blog, is now gaining and growing in popularity.  The first proof of this is that content marketing now has its place as a definition in Wikipedia. Even more proof is that many bloggers have made content marketing their focus, including Newt Barrett, Patsi Krakoff, w00tonomy, and Relevant and Valued.

Lessons Learned

Below are five lessons that I originally posted about on my 100 post anniversary. The copy in red below is my commentary on each one, now six months+ later.

1. Focus on great content. Before launching the blog, most bloggers I talked with pressed the importance of frequency in blogging.  "Post as much as you can," they said. So, when I started, my goal was to post at least once a day or more. I averaged about four posts per week. Although I still believe in the importance of frequency, I now believe that "less posting, more substance" is a much more effective way to build traffic and loyalty. Make sure what you are writing is something important and not just random musings. This may seem like common sense, but a lot of bloggers I've read just ramble on, making no point on certain days between great posts (let me stop here before I ramble). This "more content substance" strategy is something I've noticed from Scott Karp on the Publishing2 blog and Brian Clark over at Copyblogger.
   
   I believe this now more than ever. Three quality posts per week seems to do the trick. Even three can be a challenge for me depending on the week.  I've seen some bloggers such as Bernie at Find and Convert do a great job with one quality post per week.
   
   
2. Leverage social media sites. After a few weeks/months, traffic starts to come in from the search engines. SEO is extremely important, but just as or more important is leveraging the social media sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Sphinn, etc. Also look into niche social media sites like Small Business Brief that are specific to your area of expertise. Depending on the content of the day, social media sites can and will drive more traffic to your sites.
   
   Most of my time is now spent uploading relevant sites to Junta42. I don't spend as much time on the other social media sites. I've recently started noting relevant posts at Twitter, which brings in some traffic depending on the article. I also upload to Facebook and Plaxo as well automatically through TypePad. Altogether, this strategy works. My advice would be to use the most relevant sites where your core audience hangs out, and focus on those. The more active you are in the community (not just posting your own articles), the more impact you will have.
   
   
3. Promote a call to action - Getting Names! Whenever possible, be sure you promote your RSS feed or email feed in and around your blog. Some users may come to your site for the first time, enjoy your post, but then leave. Your goal is to keep talking with them. Make sure they see your feeds! Getting readers through RSS and email is MUCH MORE important in the long-run than search engine traffic. Look at it this way...if you completely focus all your attention on search engine traffic or social media sites, and then one day all that dried up or they changed their algorithms, you'd be dead. If you have a loyal following of readers that willingly receive your material every day, you never have to depend on outside traffic alone.
   
   As of today I have 360 readers signed up through RSS feeds. Not outstanding, but the list of people getting my email RSS feeds through email contain an impressive collection of marketers and publishers. Key here is to make sure they can easily get regular access to your content if they want it. It's not the most traffic that counts, it's the right kind of traffic.
   
   
4. Write at least one "pillar" article per week.  A pillar article is a piece of evergreen content that is timeless, and also works to teach your readers something about a product or industry. They tend to be longer, and if written correctly, tend to generate a lot of links to your post. I worked for 2-3 days on 42 Content Building Ways to Attract and Retain Customers. It was designed as a key pillar article.  I have about 15 now that generate the majority of my traffic. If I made the time, I'd write two pillar articles per week.
   
   This is incredibly important, and still holds true six months later. Pillar posts still account for the majority of my traffic. When you focus on actionable articles that people can use immediately, you'll see traction.
   
   
5. Identify the top 20 blogs in your space and get active. Once you identify the sites, begin to comment on posts, as well as use TrackBacks when you talk about their post in your blog. This is something I've done a bit of, but haven't dedicated as much time as I should have. That said, the little I have done has created great relationships with other bloggers, as well as a good amount of traffic to my site. I'm now working with two other bloggers on projects that resulted from my posting comments on their site. This will be a key effort of mine over the next six months.
   
   I still follow the upper tier of blogs from the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs. I don't comment as much as I like, but commenting does more than bring traffic. It helps to create long-term relationships with like-minded professionals.  Find the ones that make sense and become part of their community. If someone posts about you, make sure you comment. It makes a difference.

All in all, blogging is just a tool, but it can be a very effective one for distributing consistent and valuable content to your target audience. When done correctly, there may not be a better way to grow your business or professional career. But it takes time, energy and commitment.

It's hard to think about where we'd be now without the blog. It will be interesting to see how things progress one, two or three years down the road.

If you are considering blogging, I can't stress how important blogging could be for you if you can make the time, and if you have something important to say.  Good luck!

Here's to many more years of blogging to come.

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Holding a Custom Event vs. Exhibiting at a Trade Show

In-person events are extremely important, especially in an economic downturn. There is nothing like talking on-on-one with your customers and prospects. They require significant investment, but can also show a solid ROI depending on the overall strategy. More and more, companies are spreading their wings and producing their own events. Our recent BtoB/Junta42 study revealed that almost 40% of marketers plan and produce their own custom events or roadshows.

Still, custom events are costly from a financial and human resources perspective. Also, if the content is not stellar, a custom event could actually hurt your brand. But the payoff, if done correctly, can be huge.

I asked trade show expert Joyce McKee from Let's Talk Trade Shows to give a little insight into what a business needs to consider when launching a custom event - versus just being an exhibitor at an industry trade show.  A big thanks to Joyce for putting this together. - JP

Holding a private event vs. being an exhibitor at a trade show

Of course there are many trade offs which needs to be taken into consideration when considering a custom event versus exhibiting at a trade show.

Normally, the reason to host a private event – a company wants to control the content and keep competitors out.  But at what cost?

Here are some serious considerations to consider before leaping to the conclusion that the private event is your best opportunity.

Audience Acquisition
How difficult will it be to draw the correct audience to the event?  What compelling information will you be delivering at this event?  It needs to be so rich and relevant that they are willing to interrupt their schedules and travel to be at your event.

A show organizer will spend money on audience acquisition.  And this is where I advise my clients to assess the marketing efforts of the show to draw an audience.   What marketing tactics are they deploying to get the audience to the show?  As an exhibitor you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their marketing plan.

If you are an exhibitor, you still need to use this show function to bring your current customers and prospects in so that they can be “educated” in your booth.  There are other opportunities for entertainment which should be considered for your target audience.

Being an exhibitor at a show means you can draw from the show organizers and other exhibitors’ marketing efforts to have a crowd walking up and down the aisles.  Now to get a stream of that crowd into your booth – that’s another topic!

Another key audience consideration for a private event – what does your list REALLY look like – how clean is the database of names?

Personal invitations and custom direct mail will be the best way to inform your audience – you must reveal the compelling reasons to come. You may also be able to leverage your sales team, who should have close relationships with key prospective attendees.

Set Expectations
The tangible dynamic of a crowd at a show vs. a group of people at an event needs to be taken into consideration.  It will be very important to set expectations among your attendee as to the look and feel you would have at a private event.  The language of exclusive gathering, etc. can be used to draw them to the event.

Education and networking are key components of any gathering.  You need to make sure to facilitate both aspects to have a delighted attendee.

What's the Strategy?
What are your objectives for hosting the private event?   What type of ROI would be acceptable for your firm to host this type of event?

The cost of a private event can be considerable and that should be scrutinized carefully against the objectives desired.

Event Expertise
Do you have the talented, well informed event personnel on staff (or can contract them) to produce your private event?

If you holding an event at a conference facility or large hotel, someone with the knowledge to navigate all the contracts, food and beverage and on and on needs to be in place or costs can spiral out of control.

Make Them Feel Special
Now there are ways to use a trade show to host special groups and create a “private” feel for the show experience.  One is to have a special room off the show floor for demos, private conversations, etc.

Then there are the hotel rooms which can be used to educated and entertain selected customers and prospects.

As you can see, Joyce knows her stuff.  Another important component that I would add is the creation of content - which is as difficult as any of the above points. You may want to consider partnering with an organization that can assist you in creating the most compelling and relevant content for your organization.

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Do What Google Does with Your Content Marketing

Here is a portion of a letter to the editor for the most recent Fast Company. The submission comes from Eric Schultz in response to Fast Company's March, 2008 cover story featuring Google as the most innovative company in the world.

"Maybe it's time to get off the Google bandwagon. It's all expansion of one good idea, some smart acquisitions, and lots and lots of cool, free, unprofitable stuff that allows the old idea to make more money."

Google, by creating such free services as Google Co-op, Google Apps, Gmail and others, has created a number of opportunities for customers to get more involved in the Google brand. It's not news that this is pure genius.

What Can Marketers Learn from Google?

Smart marketers can learn a lot from what Google has done. Now, very few of us have the resources to create a bunch of free online services, but we can take their example with our content marketing.

By generating consistent, valuable and compelling content, delivered to our customers and prospects, we can drive the same type of results as Google.

Not Apps and Gmail, but White Papers, Blogs and Articles

Let's go back to our letter to the editor. Google creates "lots of cool, free, unprofitable stuff" that generates revenues through other products. That's the essence of content marketing.

When you deliver ultra-valuable information to your customers, and not just product pitches, it drives customers to your "paid" products.

Free doesn't mean it's not valuable. Actually, your free content that you deliver must be the best stuff around, or why would they consider buying what you actually have to offer?  I've heard renown copywriter and entrepreneur Bob Bly state this many times in his audio recordings. Bob is adamant that the very best information you have to offer should be what you give away for free, which will ultimately create demand for your real products.

What You Must Do Now

Recognize the fact that, regardless of what you sell, you are a publisher. Start looking at your customers and prospects from the perspective of the information they need to have to do their job faster, better, cheaper.

Once you do that, start creating the content and pick a consistent schedule. If you stay the course, the results will be impressive indeed. Unfortunately, most companies start and stall when in comes to their content marketing.  In today's marketing environment, and the way consumers engage in information online, you can't afford to stall.  Be like Google.  Be relentless. Good Luck!

Relevant Articles

• Business Marketers Spending Big on Content Marketing
• 42 Ways to Deliver Valuable Content to Your Customers and Prospects
• Seth says that Content Marketing is the Only Marketing Left

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New Rules of Custom Publishing - New Complimentary White Paper: Nine Strategies to Create a World-Class Content Marketing Company

Find Expert Custom Publishers at Junta42 Match

The web and a continuing modification of buyer behavior (among other things) have changed the rules of what most people call the "custom publishing" industry. Traditional custom publishers, who profit from the creation and execution of customized content solutions for clients, must understand the new rules of custom publishing in order to survive. To help, I put together this complimentary white paper titled: The New Rules of Custom Publishing: Nine Key Strategies for Creating a World-Class Content Marketing Company.

Although this white paper is clearly targeted for publishers, or the providers of content services for marketing professionals, there is tremendous value for both marketers and publishers. This is especially true, since it doesn't matter if you make your money off of publishing or not. We are all publishers...so we all need to understand what is going on in the marketing/publishing world in order to compete in it (with content).

Unfortunately, most custom publishers are still hanging on to older business models  and, as such, are getting plowed down by those abiding by the new rules of custom publishing. That said, there is a huge opportunity for those organizations that do choose to adopt the new rules as part of their overall business strategy.

The nine strategies highlighted in "The New Rules of Custom Publishing" are:                   

1. Understand the Changes That Are Leading the Content Marketing Future - A comprehensive overview of the changes in technology, publishing and marketing that are driving the custom content revolution.
2. Be Active in Social Media:  It's Mandatory for the Future of Custom Publishing - From blogs to LinkedIn to Facebook, the new landscape of social media is an essential part of any strategy.
3. Acquire Expertise in All Forms of Content - Forget about focusing on one custom product; these days publishers need to be masters (or access to expertise) of everything from print magazines to Webcasts.
4. Walk the Talk - Don't expect a client to have confidence in your expertise if your company is not its own best content marketer.
5. Position Yourself as Both a Marketing and a Publishing Expert - Only companies that understand - and work with - both sides of the business are going to thrive.
6. Have a Clear Value Proposition - At some point the custom publishing field will become glutted.  What's going to differentiate your company from the masses?
7. Price Your Services According to What the Customer Values - From industry standards to client specifics, everything a company could need to know about pricing.
8. Value the Role of the Project Manager - No project is going to manage itself.  Don't underestimate the importance of good oversight.
9. Use Questions, Not Answers:  Five Steps to Closing the Deal - How to make the client knock on your door...

Download this complimentary white paper The New Rules of Custom Publishing: Nine Key Strategies for Creating a World-Class Content Marketing Company and take your content company into the new world of publishing.  I hope you enjoy it!

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The Relationship between Editors and Freelance Writers

I received an email from a freelance writer last week who wanted a little more detail on how custom publishers/custom publishing editors work with freelance writers (and any specific advice).  Although it's a little off our focus here, it's still a great topic.  So, I asked my friend and colleague Tom Peric', who has been chief editor of a number of custom publications, to respond. Tom's information is below.

I decided NOT to split this article up, even though it is rather long. As you'll see from Tom's article, freelance writers with traditional assignments vs. custom assignments seem pretty much the same. Personally, the major difference with custom over traditional is that sometimes writers need to follow Tom's advice with multiple contacts - the editorial director or chief editor, the account director and the account manager. Each deserves their own treatment. There is no question that there is tons of opportunity for freelancers in custom publishing/media...but you definitely have to WANT it.

Thanks Tom for the submission...I hope you all enjoy! - JP

The Writing Life: Editors and Writers

Writing types often ask me about the relationship between editors and freelance writers. Having been on both sides of the fence, I can sympathize with both groups when they gripe about the other party. In particular, freelance writers want to know how to get the attention of editors for an article and to keep that interest for future assignments. Editors don’t share the same mold. Editors’ approaches to how they deal with freelancers are as varied as the choices of apples at the supermarket. Here are some tips that might help you close the gap with your less successful editors.

Remain The Same. If an editor is accepting your work and seems keen to keep giving you assignments, then you probably have the "right" kind of approach. After all, they keep feeding you work. Here, the cliché is apt: "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." You have apparently developed a system that works for you, so keep doing what you have been doing with this batch.

Background and Relationships. Cracking into the pack of writers used by a reliable editor can be very difficult even when you've shown, via clips or references, that you’re a pro. Editors don’t like taking chances, probably because they have been disappointed in the past. Hence a reluctance. Yes, ironically, they must always be on the lookout for new talent. Yes, your clips are good, but how do they know that a superb editor didn’t slave over your effort to make it good?  Suggest to the editor that you might want to take an article, not for the next issue but several issues down the road. This way, you're offering the editor a way to deal with your work (kill the story) if he or she doesn’t feel your work doesn’t pass the test.

Know The Game. There’s nothing more compelling to an editor than when you clearly demonstrate you are familiar with the publication. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming process, and it’s why most PR people fail miserably when they pitch editors. I would hope that you check out the edit calendar BEFORE you pitch the editor. I am stunned at the number of PR people and writers who never bother to look at this. Knowing what an editor is looking for and when he or she needs it is winning half of the assignment game.

What’s The Value? Unfortunately, the law of supply and demand dictates the market for freelancers. There are tons of freelancers out there. (I didn’t say they were good, just that they’re out there.) Everyone wants to write and thinks they can write. So, how valuable are freelancers? Valuable if they deliver. That means they meet deadlines, the copy is tight and bright, they follow the assignment sheet, they keep you abreast of developments, especially problems, and they contact you early – not the day before – when a sticky point develops. One of my freelancers should probably get more money from me. I don’t want to lose him, but there’s something called a budget. So I pay him within one week (or less) when he turns in the assignment. And I have only sent one assignment back for a minor touch-up in about five years. Any follow-up, I do. What I’m doing is keeping his workload to a minimum and paying faster than anyone in the freelance universe. He loves working with me, and I enjoy working with him. I’m also appalled that the freelance market doesn’t pay any better today (per word) than it did 25 years ago. Supply and demand. There will always be more supply than demand – and the wages reflect that reality.

Problem Editors. What should you do with problem editors who don't you use you or, if they do, make it hard getting new assignments? Use the direct, polite approach. Ask them what is the best way to get more assignments. Try this: "Janice, I enjoyed the article I did for you and would like to a few more on a regular basis. Is there anything I can do that would increase this likelihood? Do I need to pitch you differently or approach my stories from a special perspective?” Again, I'm always amazed when people don't ask the person to whom they’re selling (and you ARE selling them your writing and reporting skills) how to do it. I would be sure to ask the editor how they want to be pitched and even WHEN they want pitches. While I own my own PR firm in Cherry Hill, N.J., I also serve as the editor of two national trade publications. Sometimes I have people genuflecting to me so that I accept their article or expert as a source. Other times, I'm on bended knee to an editor saying, “please please,” accept my client's article or idea. It's a very unusual situation but one that gives me an inside view of BOTH worlds that very few people have. When pitching me, I say the same thing over and over again: Write a working headline and two to three short graphs on the ideas. You MUST answer the two most basic questions on EVERY pitch. Why should I (and the reader) care? Why should I care now? If you can't answer that, you're going to fall short. If you ask each editor how they want pitches and you do it precisely as they requested, you will increase your acceptance rate. When the handful of people who really follow my guidelines send me a pitch, it’s amazing how many get an assignment. ASK!

Make It Personal. Whenever possible, try to meet the editor for lunch and a face-to-face. I understand you can't fly across the country for a $500 assignment. But if the editor is within striking distance, up to three hours, I say go for it. How do you decide? Simple. How important is the editor and publication to you? If it's only $1,000 per year, it might not be worth it. But if it's worth $5,000 and you think it's possible to boost that figure to $15,000, make that luncheon appointment today. Meet with EVERY editor at least once a year, and twice is better. In this Internet age, becoming a real person as opposed to a disembodied spirit via e-mail can make all the difference in the world. When you see a particularly relevant idea for an editor, even if it is not something you want to write about, pass it on to the editor with a brief note. Stay in front of the editor in a low-key, but regular way.

Beyond E-Mail. E-mail is great. But most of us forget about e-mails almost immediately, NO MATTER how valuable. Unless we tag it or pull it into an appropriate folder, WE FORGET ABOUT IT. Follow up EVERY e-mail intro to an editor with a hard copy by snail mail.  The snail mail will presumably include your background, plus an article or two. Be sure to use a good color printer for what you send. Mention in the e-mail that you'll send hard copy. Why? Try this: “Janice, because e-mail getting through is always suspect, I'm also sending along a copy of this e-mail in a snail mail packet." Now it might sit on the desk for months, but the editor will almost surely have to "touch” it again. And they just might say, "Oh, yeah, I meant to . . ." Old e-mails? Don't we almost always forget about them? Snail mail is still real mail.

What Am I Doing Wrong? What are you doing wrong with the editors who don’t use or call upon you with regularity? Again, just ask. The problem is most editors will never level with you. Whether it’s political correctness, politeness or avoiding a decidedly uncomfortable conversation, I’ve never known an editor to say, “I just don’t like your writing style.” However, I once had an editor compare me to another top gun freelancer and, frankly, he favored the other guy. He was also honest about why. That conversation had a profound effect on me. I had another editor who had issues about one aspect of how I handled the language. The results of the conversation also had a dramatic effect on how I wrote subsequently.  In short, when you obtain the information that warrants change, do so. But there will always be some things (editors) that you can’t control, change or receive information from that permits you to take a different direction. “Forget about it,” as Al Pacino said. You’ll sleep better at night. Just go on to the next editor.

The Best Time. Keep abreast of changes in the marketplace. There is NEVER a better time to approach an editor than when he or she starts on the job. They often start with a partially clean slate. What better time than now to approach them before they create their own stable of writers and become reluctant to add more? One source I use, among many, is Partyline. It is a weekly report on staff and editorial changes at many media outlets. Tell Betty I sent you. A bit expensive for some freelancers (about $167 for an online version) but worth it. Visit http://www.partylinepublishing.com.

Tom Peric' is a leading speaker on getting publicity and president of Galileo Communications Inc. He is the author of Wacky Days: How to Get Millions of $$$ in Free Publicity. Contact him at 856-874-0049, tom[at]thegalileo.com or visit www.thegalileo.com. © 2008 Galileo Communications Inc.

Related Articles

• The Freelance Writing Retirement Plan
• You Are What the Web Says You Are: Reality and Social Media Reality

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4 Easy Steps to Getting Found on the Internet

After speaking at the min day summit yesterday, I was able to connect with a few publisher friends of mine I haven't seen in quite a while.  For one person in particular (who will remain nameless), I didn't pick up their business card - and wanted to send a follow up email.

While searching online, I couldn't find the person's email address. Now, this is a very successful publishing executive. When I typed his name into Google, it was like he didn't even exist.  On the company site there was no direct contact information. After about 5 minutes of searching through documents in Google, I finally found his email in a pdf document.

I wonder - does he know how hard it is for people to find him on the web? Being a marketing and publishing executive today is all about being accessible. That aside, what does it say about his web knowledge, or how his company positions executives, that they make it a chore for people to get in touch with him and the company?

Seth Godin, in his book Meatball Sundae, has an excellent example about this very topic. In his example, he was discussing how getting the direct contact information for Bank of America's CEO was almost impossible - guarded by layers of hoops, contact forms and gatekeepers. Not only does this present a customer service no-no, but it is exactly the opposite online perception of what the web was built for - transparency, easy access, openness, etc.

Because of this one small situation, my perception of the person and the company has changed - and I'm not even a customer. I wonder what customers must feel like when trying to get in touch with company executives.

Make sure as a marketing professional you are taking care of your own online persona, as well as your company's.  Here are some simple things that will help:

• Make Your Email Accessible - Put your email address and contact information on the "contact us" portion of the web site. Web forms are fine (we use one on the Z Squared Media site), but make sure executive emails are accessible. The easiest way to do this is to set up a Media Room on your site, that includes all your basic company information, including press releases and contact information. Here is what we use for Junta42's Media Room. I have my direct email information on the contact us page (and my blog). The contact us page also includes other emails depending on what you need to do.
• Create a Press Release Strategy - Online press releases shouldn't necessarily be leveraged to get you press. The key goal should be search engine optimization. A regular press release strategy makes sure that you and your company information can be found easily through the search engines. We use PRWEB for our press releases. 
• Google Alerts - Most executives I talk with use Google Alerts for industry keywords, but many forget to use them for their own company, as well as their own names. Go to Google Alerts and make sure you monitor your company's name (including misspellings), your key brands, as well as variations of your name.  Whenever there is a mention on the web, Google will send you an email. That way, you know who's talking (or not talking) about you on the web. You may also want to monitor your competitors while you are at it.
• Get and Update Your LinkedIn Page - Not only is LinkedIn a great way to stay connected to business colleagues, it also gets great search rankings.  For my own name, LinkedIn makes the first page.  From their statistics, I get about 20 people a week that find me through LinkedIn. I'm not sure why some people still send out MS Word resumes in emails anymore. Just send your LinkedIn page.
• Other Helpers - Creating a Facebook page, sustaining a blog and/or authoring guest blogs on other sites, and keeping your profiles updated on social networking sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon all help.

How accessible you are on web is incredibly important to your online brand strategy.  Make sure you know how you are being perceived, and how easy or difficult you are making it for your customers to contact you. These are very simple strategies that are more and more a requirement in today's connected world. I'll be sending this link to my friend.

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New Research: Business Marketers Spending Big on Custom Publishing/Media

We are proud to release research regarding how business-to-business marketers are spending and thinking about customized content (custom publishing, custom media, content marketing - you pick the term).

Junta42, in association with BtoB Magazine, surveyed 150 marketing professionals focused in btob markets. The findings were pretty clear: content marketing is alive and growing within the business-to-business sales cycle.

Here are some key findings:

• Business marketers are allocating almost 30% (29.42% to be exact) of their marketing budgets toward the creation and execution of customized content.
• Even in a depressed economy, 42% of marketers increased their content marketing budget in 2008, with only 12% decreasing budget.  The rest held budget.
• Seven out of 10 business marketers produce an eNewsletter for their customer base. Half the marketers produce white paper or case studies as part of their marketing mix. 
• 28% produce a blog for customers. 

Here is the formal release - but you can check out the results overview here on the Junta42 site.  More to come.

Enjoy!

A Content Marketing Lesson from the Transformers

It's interesting that my two sons are playing with some of the same toys that I did when I was their age. This is especially true for the Transformers. I will admit that today's Transformers are a bit more advanced, but the premise is the same. I brought my old Transformers down from the attic, which proved to be mildly thrilling to my sons.

The hot toy my son Joshua just received is called Ultimate Bumblebee. Ultimate Bumblebee is a Transformer that turns into a 2008 Camaro. Bumblebee talks on command, and will play certain songs depending on what you do with it.

One of the songs it plays is Devo's "Whip it," a very popular song in the early 80s (that I know by heart). Bumblebee plays two different, five-second versions of the song (you can hear both in the above video clip).

Here's the content marketing/branded content lesson in all of this...

By giving away those two relevant (through Bumblebee's radio), short audio clips as part of Ultimate Bumblebee, my kids starting singing the song, as well as asking me more about it.  From that discussion, Joshua started to search the Internet for Devo's "Whip It" (the song copyright is on the outside of the box), and we watched the video on YouTube (possibly a bad parenting example there).

They liked it so much, we decided to buy the song from iTunes. Who knows what's next...Devo fan club perhaps?

After the experience, I realized that this was the perfect example of how content marketing and branded content works.

1. Provide valuable, compelling content that is relevant to the customer. (Devo's song coming from Bumblebee's radio made perfect sense. It was also in line with Bumblebee's personality [I won't go too deep into that]).
2. Take away all barriers to the customer sampling or engaging with the content. Make it free and accessible.
3. Make sure you are not selling (this was more like a free demo, or sampling).
4. If the customer's interest is peaked, make sure they can easily find more information on your "for sale" products. (Devo's information was on the back of the Ultimate Bumblebee box.)
5. Product should be easy to buy (took 3 seconds to buy the song through iTune).

Above is the perfect scenario from initiation to engagement to purchase. Now, I have no idea if that's why Devo gave the rights to Hasbro for the piece, but I can only imagine the number of Dads around the world who are singing "Whip It" to their kids.  God help us all.

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Custom Magazines Can Save a Dying Print Industry

In reading Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni's most notable magazine launch of 2007 (Condé Nast Portfolio), I couldn't help to think that there is a huge opportunity for marketers in, yes, print.

Work with me here for a second...

Mr. Magazine states that "Condé Nast felt so sure of the current desire for good content that they fed over $125 million into the launch of CN Portfolio, our Most Notable Launch of the Year. So far I haven’t heard one whisper of disappointment concerning that investment, except of course from the prophets of doom and gloom."

He's right (and so is Portfolio), relevant and valuable content can live anywhere, even in print.  And though Mr. Magazine states that 2007 had 200 fewer traditional print launches than in 2006, the 2007 number is still substantially higher than that of 1991.

Couple thoughts...first, I believe that the number of traditional magazine launches will continue to go down (yes I know, big leap). More investment is going into online and print will continue to be challenging for marketers to measure results. So, publishers will continue to go online.

Second, less print means more opportunities for those still in the game - publishers as well as marketers.

Third, almost everyone I talk to or work with still LOVES print.  As much as I believe in the growth of online and mobile (and I do), people interact and engage with print in ways that are difficult to replicate online. I still take about 10 magazines with me on every trip.

If you, as a marketer, buy into this, than you should consider some form of print custom communications as part of your content marketing plan.

Here's some equations -

Less Traditional Print = Greater Share of Customer Attention (easier to cut through the print clutter)

More Attention + Continued Customer Print Behavior = Key Channel to Build Your Customer Relationships

Print, by itself, is ignorant and wasteful. Print, integrated with online media, can be extremely powerful.

The Focus on Web May Have Blinded Your Competition

Traditional marketers are moving money in barrels over to the online space. At a recent BtoB conference, it was stated that Microsoft and Intel are putting 50% of their marketing money into the online space. I'm sure your competitors are starting to move in this fashion as well.  And they are all right to do so.

But an integrated online strategy works best with a marketing mix that includes print.   Our sponsorship drive for the 2007 Junta42 Golf for Autism showed us this last year. Even though we sent multiple emails to sponsors regarding donation opportunities, most sponsors took action when they received the print piece in the mail (over 60% used the print mail form). All of the marketing we did had impact individually, but used together we saw results.

Also, look at the USPS launch of Deliver magazine. They've been investing more and more into this magazine for marketing professionals - and have been pouring on the online marketing in conjunction. I found this banner ad promoting subscriptions on BtoB magazine today. (btw, they've also been investing many more resources into their website, which was pretty much non-existent just a few years ago.)

Look at your content marketing.  How can you integrate print into your plan?  Is there an opportunity in your industry to cut through the clutter?

There will most likely be less traditional magazine launches in 2008. Could custom magazines like Deliver save the print industry?  Possibly...

But, before you do anything, test it out.  The worst thing you could do is just spam your customers and mail out to your full list.  Get their permission first.  Focus on the 80/20 customers that mean the most to you. If successful, expand from there.