SuperSageMe!

It’s not about Ashton Kutcher. It’s all about email identity theft. Every time your personal or professional email address goes on a press release, e-mail promotion, article or marketing piece, it’s been jettisoned into cyberspace – and it’s ripe for the taking.

According to spoof/spam expert, Justin LeClair of Evolve Systems, www.evolve-systems.com, “Spammers will brute-check Google for email addresses and when they find one that’s out there a lot, they’ll use it to spoof.” Even more scarey, you won’t even know it’s happening – unless you’re getting bizarre email bounce-backs you never sent in the first place.

Spoofing is simply using a pirated or forged email address to blast out spam to millions of recipients – seemingly from someplace (your email address) other than the actual spam source. Spoofing can get you blacklisted. It makes spoofer/spammers a lot of jing - five cents for every click on a spam link times thousands of clicks.

More bad news: once your email address is out; there’s nothing you can do about it – except assume an entirely new email identity in a distant cyberspace millions of light years away. The good news: you can deter spoofers. LeClair suggests that you “use a different email address for publicly published media, so you don’t end up getting your personal or professional email address bombed”, for example:  info@helpimbeingspoofed.net. 

No Comments » Posted by Elin / E-Marketing

There is much discussion about the death of the press release. In a world of 24-hour news, fragmented media and self-publishing galore, the impact of the traditional press is greatly diminished.

However, in the world of Web 2.0 the press release has found a new beginning and it is doing something it couldn’t do 10 years ago – taking on a life of its own. Today’s press releases can live online for days, weeks, months and even years past their release date.

The press release as a mini-portal
In a 2.0 world press releases can be loaded with hyperlinks, search engine optimized-keywords, interactive content, and more. When distributed through news feeds, these 2.0 add-ons greatly enhance the online visibility and longevity of key messages.

Press releases constructed for a 2.0 world should be thought of as mini-Web portals into an organization. Use them as a tool to not only generate news coverage, but to raise online viability.

Think like an outsider
When writing a 2.0 press release, the tried and true rules of news writing still apply (after all the press is still the first and foremost audience of your release). Think and write like a reporter – not a marketing executive, salesperson, corporate lawyer or C-level executive.

• Understand what is truly newsworthy and only put out real news – information that outsiders, rather than you and your employees, will find relevant and interesting.

• Approach your press release as though you didn’t work in your company or its industry. Eliminate corporate jargon,
  industry acronyms, esoteric explanations and corporate minutiae.

• Be a stickler on grammar, spelling, punctuation, AP style and
  factual accuracy.

Understanding the role and power of a press release in a Web 2.0 world can open up a whole new channel for awareness. Long live the press release 2.0!

No Comments » Posted by Sage / Media Relations

Over the years, many sources have asked the dreaded question: Will I get to see what you write before it’s published?

In almost every instance, the answer is no. That’s the rule at most publications. But it’s the damage the request can do to a relationship with a reporter that should make you think twice about asking.

Why? The request implies a lack of trust. I may take offense when I hear it and be less likely to call you as a resource again. (I may, however, give a free pass to new companies, whose owners may ask out of innocence or because they’re unaware of the protocol.)

But it’s the timing that upsets me most. Without fail, the question gets posed at the end of a wonderful, in-depth interview.

Why end it on an awkward note?

No Comments » Posted by Sarah B / Media Relations

Web 2.0 (dynamic, interactive, optimized) Web sites and blogs are like the proverbial tree falling in a forest if there’s no one around to notice. It takes a marriage of new  - and old - marketing communications vehicles to make target audiences aware of your new Web site, or blog, or forum, or bulletin board. So …

• Announce your new Web site with a press release to publications that your target customers read. Make sure to cover the innovative ways you encourage  interaction on the site and what the site offers visitors. News releases must have substance.
• Send a direct mail piece to your customer, prospect and friends list announcing the site and offering a giveaway to the first five who log in.
• Put your Web and/or blog addresses on every printed piece and every email you send out.
• Bring visitors back to your site with valuable downloadable tips or trends, case studies or articles; announce their availability in an email or in person.

The most effective marketing initiatives take advantage of the best new - and traditional - tools.

No Comments » Posted by Elin / Communications and E-Marketing

From elevator pitches to descriptions of company products and services, insiders are often too close to the subject, too steeped in the details to give right-on, short answers to critical customer questions. You should be able to respond to the following questions in less than 30 seconds with one or two phrases (that’s about all the time you’ll get). No industry jargon or acronyms. Can’t do it? Sit down with a savvy outsider (could be a customer/friend) and craft the answers. Distribute them to everyone that has contact with customers, so you’ll all sing the same notes.

1. Who is [COMPANY NAME]? [We make logo'd shirts for companies and teams.]

2. What do you do? [We do company payroll tasks on line.]

3. What can you do for me? [Reduce payroll-related staff and costs; let you focus on your core business.]

4. What will you do for me that your competitors don’t do? [We're the only company that will have an expert tech at your door in an hour - any day, any time, holidays included - to keep your business running.]

5. Why should I do business with you? [Big Bang benefits, i.e., keep your systems running 24/7/365 - no revenue or data loss.]

No Comments » Posted by Elin / Communications

Reporters and editors are like those elusive crushes you had in high school. You try to communicate with them every once in a while, but they just won’t give you the time of day. That is, unless they want something from you.

Your high school crush may have wanted help with homework – or worse – to cheat off you during a test. Reporters and editors have similarly selfish intentions. They’ll want your information if it’s A. truly newsworthy — a scoop they can put on page one and one-up the competition; or B. something that’s going to fill their news “hole.”

Feeding the monster
Depending on their editorial cycle, reporters and editors feel the pressure every day, week or month to fill their pages with print. Pitch them at the right time, and – as long as the story is substantive, interesting and not overly promotional – they just might bite. As precious as they are, these opportunities, however, tend to be few and far between. More often, you’ll feel as if you’re pitching to a vacuum.

If not now - sometime
Don’t despair. Though reporters or editors may not respond right away, their silence doesn’t mean they haven’t filed away your idea on their computers – or, more likely, in their heads – as a possible future story. So keep the pitches coming. A constant stream – but not bombardment – of relevant information is the only way to cement your company in the minds of the media.

No Comments » Posted by Sarah B / Media Relations

Whether you’re creating a marketing e-mail, an e-newsletter, Web or blog copy, remember S4 : Short, Simple, Scannable, Searchable to make your piece “sticky.”

• Short: Keep copy at 100 words or fewer. If you’re quoting from an article, provide the first paragraph, then a link such as “read more” or “article.”

• Simple: No fancy words, no industry jargon. Short sentences. A single idea at a time.

• Scannable: Use heads and subheads to give your piece glance value; enable the reader to “get it”
without pouring over each word.

• Searchable: Incorporate your key words (the words your customers use to find companies or
products like yours online). Helps your Web or blog copy pop to the top in online searches.

No Comments » Posted by Elin / E-Marketing