I Am Email-Exhausted. Here's How A Smart Marketer Got Through To Me.

©CC Exhausted Courtesy ofAglet

I got an email today. I didn't know the sender. I had never heard of the company.

But I read the email. I also Googled the company name to learn more.

What made me do it? Two things:

1. This pitch was a straight-forward text message just like the kind I get from colleagues and friends every day.  Not too long, not too short.

2. I was not invited to click-through, or visit a website, or download a white paper. I was invited to contact the writer if I was interested. Period.

I am "email-exhausted," but this got my attention.  Here's exactly what the mail said:

Hi Nancy,

I'm sure you placed a lot of effort making it perfect, but is it

reaching your target audience? Do you have enough time and the right

resources to channel it to the right prospects and even to your

existing customers?

CBI Marketing Solutions aims to deliver our client's messages through

our proven multi-channel marketing strategy. If you have some

Brochures, White Papers, Videos and other marketing collateral's, we

can help you get that delivered to your expected readers/viewers or to

a wider market by using phone, social media and email marketing

campaigns.

Let me know if you're interested to know the process.

Sincerely,

Charlene Adams

Sales Representative, CBI Marketing  Solutions

Oh, and here's a link to CBI's website. They deserve it. CBI Marketing

scrubbed by MarketingBrillo

“Urban Preppers”: Twelve Money Suckers You Can Go to War With Right Now!

©CCRockyRaccoonakaSeedThiefcourtesyofJerryMcFarland

We’re ALL guilty !

Consider the sort of “extravagances” the average American pours money into without thinking. But why? We can do it much cheaper by doing it ourselves, reusing/recycling, consuming less, cutting back, getting simple, and holding-on longer.

Curiously, we expend so much energy and so many resources on services and "luxuries" that we have no time left to do things cheaply! The best example I can think of is gym memberships v. … walking … or … biking … or running … or gardening … or mowing the lawn!

It’s as though we're too busy to do anything for ourselves. How did this happen?

1. Beauty
• Hair. We depend on others to cut it, color it, trim it, condition it. At least we grow it ourselves?
• Nails. Somebody else cuts our toenails. Yikes!
• Skincare. Machines and medicines, dermatologists and surgeons. And it still wrinkles.
• Weightloss. How many diets, how many drugs does it take to lose how many pounds?

2. Pets
• Food. What happened to table scraps?
• Vets. Accpuncture? Oh my, please don't get me started.
 • Grooming. Seriously?
• Training. Just watch "The Dog Whisperer." Cesar is all you need to know.
• Insurance. In case your dog bites [or kills] somebody [see Training above].

3. Clothes
• Chasing Fashion. Fashion changes faster than your weight. Who can keep up?

4. Technology
• Designer cellphones. If you need to make a call, you don't need fingerprint access.
• Computer choices. You can get it cheaper. You know you can.
• Entertainment. Pokeman go? But why? Why? Why?

5. Housing
• Size. How many siblings slept in your mom or dad's bedroom?
• Location. We pay a lot for "neighborhood." And then we never meet our neighbors.
• Furnishings. You can never have too many pillows or mattresses or patio chairs or ...
• Professional landscaping. Hmmmm....

6. Vacations
• Hotels. Airbnb.
• Destination vacations. Try Disney v. Yellowstone. Six Flags  v. Appalachian Trail ..

7. Automobiles
• Expensive Make. Because .... ?
• Latest Model. Because .... ?

8. Children’s Activities
• Special classes. For the super talented, maybe ...
• Sports gear. For the special classes, always ...
• Toys et al. For the uninspired and the unnecessary...

9. Medical Services
• Medication reliance. Doc on speed dial.
• Designer drugs. Versus generics.

10. Religion/Spirituality
• Special classes. Necessary? You decide.
• Retreats. Necessary or fun? You decide.

11. Entertainment/Leisure Time
• Bars. Cheaper at home.
• Restaurants. Cheaper at home.
• Gyms and Spas. Cheaper at  home.
• Yoga classes. Cheaper at home.

12. Food
• Dining out. More fun at home, at least part of the time.
• Buying full- or partially-prepared items. Parboiling costs a lot, prechopped blows the budget.

Clearly, without the service economy in America, a lot of us would be unemployed. But do we really want to pay somebody else to do everything for us?

Yes? No? Let's talk about it ...

-- scrubbed by MarketingBrillo

How to Choose the Editor You Need

©cc Courtesy of Jennie Robinson Faber

Robin Sullivan knows the publishing and book marketing industry in and out. Fortunately for Washington-area writers, Robin hosts regular seminars for the “Washington DC Write to Publish” Meetup Group.

Recently, Robin explained why book authors likely need several editors, each looking at a manuscript differently. I hadn’t heard these editorial distinctions before, but they are worth sharing. So thank you, Robin!

1. Line Editor

If your writing needs smoothing over and polishing, a line editor will do nicely. This professional helps your prose flow and your words communicate. When the line editor is done, your manuscript should simply "read better." Don’t expect a deep flaw-checking from your line editor, though. For that you need our next expert.

2. Copy Editor

Copy editors make sure your writing confirms to a standard style (AP, Chicago, whatever). They’ll find flaws in grammar, spelling, and style consistency. The American Society of Copy Editors says, "Some may think of us as grammar geeks, punctuation freaks and syntax-obsessed snobs." Many published writers probably would argue that their copy editor helped get the manuscript published. Respect! Note: Many copy editors freelance.

3. Structural Editor

Did you ever wonder what Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis did when she worked as a consulting “editor” at The Viking Press? I doubt she was proofreading. Most likely, Jackie was a structural editor. If so, she would have been reviewing manuscripts for the caliber of character motivation, flaws in pacing, the arrangement of information, the amount of descriptive detail — in other words the whole darn thing. Structural editors will make your manuscript sing like a choir, but they don’t come cheap. These folks have read — and written — a lot and they have minds that rearrange the parts to perfection. Note: Freelance structural editors are difficult to find. Most of them are already booked and they’re earning a lot of money.

4. Proofreader

And, yes, you need a proofreader. When all the other editors have had their say and your manuscript is in layout, bring in the proofreader. This final step leads to an error-free document.

For additional details, check out this post by New York Book Editors.

Scrubbed by Marketing Brillo