(1452,4,'2011-10-26 19:31:01','2011-10-26 19:31:01','Netflix has just lost 800,000 customers and has seen its share price drop. Why? Because Netflix\'s CEO is a terrible communicator. It is that simple.\r\n\r\nI am not going to rehash the whole price hike, Qwiskter debacle here. You can read more and find some really good analysis  by Nick Wingfield and Brian Stelter  on the New York Times <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">(Netflix Lost 800,000 Members, and Good Will</a>).\r\n\r\nThe article says this:\r\n<blockquote>Like many other companies built in Silicon Valley, Netflix prides itself  on its analytical, data-driven approach to making decisions. But it  made a classic business misstep. In its reliance on data and long-term  strategy, the company underestimated the unquantifiable emotions of  subscribers who still want those little red envelopes, even if they  forget to ever watch the DVDs inside.</blockquote>\r\nIt seems to me that Reed Hastings is probably very good at forecasting and trend analysis and has decided, purely on an analytical basis, that streaming is the future. He then proceeded to move his company full force into that future, <em>while steamrolling over his existing customers.</em> Because he didn\'t view those clients as PEOPLE, he viewed them as revenue sources. And thus, he communicated to them as if he were communicating to inanimate objects.\r\n\r\nYou see, revenue sources should not have any kind of emotional reaction to news. But people do. People not only react to news, they SHARE their emotions with others. And you add amplifiers such as social media into the mix, and pretty soon lots of people (also known as customers) are sharing in the bad emotions and being persuaded to act. Which in Netflix\'s case ends up in lost membership.\r\n\r\nCommunications starts with the premise that you are connecting with other people, as I said in <a title=\"More ways to communicate; less communication\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication/\" target=\"_blank\">this post</a>. If you fail to connect, you also fail to communicate, and in Netflix\'s case, the damage adds up in monetary losses and hits to your reputation.','Yeah, communications do matter','','publish','open','open','','yeah-communications-do-matter','','\nhttp://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication/','2011-10-26 19:31:01','2011-10-26 19:31:01','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1452',0,'post','',0),
(1446,4,'2011-10-17 20:30:03','2011-10-17 20:30:03','When businesses are very small they tend to not be able to afford outside help. Sometimes, the business in question works in the communications space (writing, editing, advertising, etc.) and thinks it can handle it.\r\n\r\nChances are good that you should NOT  be handling your own communications, unless you can answer the following three questions:\r\n\r\n<strong>1) Do you know what you offer, and can you say it in one sentence?</strong> Recently, I was at a business meeting and someone was attempting to describe her business. She gave us many sentences but still it did not make sense. Someone had to ask her to clarify, and she still wasn\'t able to do it.\r\n\r\n<strong>2) What are the top three benefits of working with you? </strong>Unless you have been asking your customers all along, chances are good that you may not be sure what your customers really appreciate about your business.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) Are you able to speak(and write) in plain English?</strong> Many firms, especially those in the technology sector, speak in jargonese. Most people, including your customers, do not understand jargon, or convoluted sentences.  Being clear and making yourself understood is not so simple!\r\n\r\nHiring outside help can be invaluable in helping you to refine your message, clarify your thoughts and communicate them concisely.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Should you be handling your own communications?','','publish','open','open','','should-you-be-handling-your-own-communications','','','2011-10-17 20:30:03','2011-10-17 20:30:03','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1446',0,'post','',0),
(1447,4,'2011-10-17 20:29:41','2011-10-17 20:29:41','When businesses are very small they tend to not be able to afford outside help. Sometimes, the business in question works in the communications space (writing, editing, advertising, etc.) and thinks it can handle it.\n\nChances are good that you should NOT  be handling your own communications, unless you can answer the following three questions:\n\n<strong>1) Do you know what you offer, and can you say it in one sentence?</strong> Recently, I was at a business meeting and someone was attempting to describe her business. She gave us many sentences but still it did not make sense. Someone had to ask her to clarify, and she still wasn\'t able to do it.\n\n<strong>2) What are the top three benefits of working with you? </strong>Unless you have been asking your customers all along, chances are good that you may not be sure what your customers really appreciate about your business.\n\n<strong>3) Are you able to speak(and write) in plain English?</strong> Many firms, especially those in the technology sector, speak in jargonese. Most people, including your customers, do not understand jargon, or convoluted sentences.  Being clear and making yourself understood is not so simple!\n\nHiring outside help can be invaluable in helping you to refine your message, clarify your thoughts and communicate them concisely.\n\n&nbsp;','Should you be handling your own communications?','','inherit','open','open','','1446-revision','','','2011-10-17 20:29:41','2011-10-17 20:29:41','',1446,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1446-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1448,4,'2011-10-19 15:13:27','2011-10-19 15:13:27','We\'ve got Facebook and Twitter; Skype and GChat; email; text; and many other forms of staying in touch. And yet, most people seem to be communicating less not more. There seem to be fewer conversations but more content.\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen it more and more. People don\'t respond to email. People don\'t return calls. People don\'t seem to acknowledge when they have been contacted.\r\n\r\nYet, people have an expectation of immediate response. For instance, a woman in my now defunct book group placed a note on Facebook about changing our book group meeting (scheduled for two days after her note) because she hadn\'t finished reading the book. Because I did not immediately answer her, she emailed me the message. (The answer, by the way, was no.)  If she truly wanted an immediate answer, she could have just called.  But calling would have involved a conversation, and people today seem to be reluctant to have those. So even though she sent me messages two different ways, she failed to CONNECT with me and thus, her communication was fruitless.\r\n\r\nSharing is not communicating. Repeat: sharing is not communicating. If I share an article, all I am doing is giving you an opportunity to read it. I am not communicating what it is about the article that I agree or disagree with,  and more importantly, I am not hearing what your thoughts are. We are not discussing or conversing about the subject--we are just exposing.\r\n\r\nIn all this morass of social media and instant messaging, we are losing the ability to connect. Real communications between people involves connection. A message posted to the ether is not connection. If I tweet something out, am I truly communicating? No, I am not.  To truly communicate I would have to have a back and forth conversation where ideas are shared, people are listening and listened to.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a shame that in a world where we can be in touch with anyone anywhere at any given time, we are losing the ability to really connect.\r\n\r\nYour thoughts? Let me know what you think...I really want to know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','More ways to communicate; less communication','','publish','open','open','','more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication','','','2011-10-19 15:13:27','2011-10-19 15:13:27','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1448',0,'post','',1),
(1449,4,'2011-10-19 15:12:50','2011-10-19 15:12:50','We\'ve got Facebook and Twitter; Skype and GChat; email; text; and many other forms of staying in touch. And yet, most people seem to be communicating less not more. There seem to be fewer conversations but more content.\n\nLately, I have seen it more and more. People don\'t respond to email. People don\'t return calls. People don\'t seem to acknowledge when they have been contacted.\n\nYet, people have an expectation of immediate response. For instance, a woman in my now defunct book group placed a note on Facebook about changing our book group meeting (scheduled for two days after her note) because she hadn\'t finished reading the book. Because I did not immediately answer her, she emailed me the message. (The answer, by the way, was no.)  If she truly wanted an immediate answer, she could have just called.  But calling would have involved a conversation, and people today seem to be reluctant to have those. So even though she sent me messages two different ways, she failed to CONNECT with me and thus, her communication was fruitless.\n\nSharing is not communicating. Repeat: sharing is not communicating. If I share an article, all I am doing is giving you an opportunity to read it. I am not communicating what it is about the article that I agree or disagree with,  and more importantly, I am not hearing what your thoughts are. We are not discussing or conversing about the subject--we are just exposing.\n\nIn all this morass of social media and instant messaging, we are losing the ability to connect. Real communications between people involves connection. A message posted to the ether is not connection. If I tweet something out, am I truly communicating? No, I am not.  To truly communicate I would have to have a back and forth conversation where ideas are shared, people are listening and listened to.\n\nIt\'s a shame that in a world where we can be in touch with anyone anywhere at any given time, we are losing the ability to really connect.\n\nYour thoughts? Let me know what you think...I really want to know!\n\n&nbsp;','More ways to communicate; less communication','','inherit','open','open','','1448-revision','','','2011-10-19 15:12:50','2011-10-19 15:12:50','',1448,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1448-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1450,4,'2011-10-24 18:05:52','2011-10-24 18:05:52','I have been seeing a few articles lately about how to craft an elevator pitch (or whether to even have one).  The latest one I have seen was today\'s blog post from BurellesLuce: <a href=\"http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2011/10/creating-a-successful-elevator-pitch/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Creating a Successful Elevator Pitch.\" </a> Although Lauren Shapiro does a good job of summarizing Robert Pagliarini\'s article (have a hook, be concise and passionate and have a call to action) about the same subject on MoneyWatch.com, she misses what I consider THE key.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>CLARITY</strong></p>\r\nAlthough <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clarity\" target=\"_blank\">Merriam-Webster </a>is not helpful with its definition (\"the quality or state of being clear; lucidity\"), we instinctively understand that clarity is something we recognize rather than explain. If something is clear, we \"see\" it, we \"get\" it. If something is not clear, it is opaque, it can\'t be understood.\r\n\r\nYes, clarity is the key to <em>any</em> successful pitch, be it an elevator pitch or a media pitch.  If you don\'t say exactly what you mean so that the other party understands, you are not communicating.\r\n\r\nIn a <a title=\"Should you be handling your own communications?\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/should-you-be-handling-your-own-communications/\" target=\"_blank\">previous post</a>, I spoke about a woman who gave an elevator pitch that went nowhere. She wasn\'t being clear. She could not distill her message and therefore she was confusing us.\r\n\r\nPitches are not about being clever or even about explaining everything there is to know about something--they are about communicating <strong>one central point clearly</strong>.\r\n\r\nYou should be answering the key question the entity you are pitching has:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Why should I do business with you?</li>\r\n	<li>Why should my publication run your story?</li>\r\n	<li>Why should my product be advertising on your channel?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf you can\'t give a clear answer to the question you can be as clever and pithy as you like and still not communicate.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','One key to a succesful pitch','','publish','open','open','','one-key-to-a-succesful-pitch','','http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2011/10/creating-a-successful-elevator-pitch/\nhttp://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/should-you-be-handling-your-own-communications/','2011-10-24 18:05:52','2011-10-24 18:05:52','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1450',0,'post','',0),
(1451,4,'2011-10-24 18:05:26','2011-10-24 18:05:26','I have been seeing a few articles lately about how to craft an elevator pitch (or whether to even have one).  The latest one I have seen was today\'s blog post from BurellesLuce: <a href=\"http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2011/10/creating-a-successful-elevator-pitch/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Creating a Successful Elevator Pitch.\" </a> Although Lauren Shapiro does a good job of summarizing Robert Pagliarini\'s article (have a hook, be concise and passionate and have a call to action) about the same subject on MoneyWatch.com, she misses what I consider THE key.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>CLARITY</strong></p>\nAlthough <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clarity\" target=\"_blank\">Merriam-Webster </a>is not helpful with its definition (\"the quality or state of being clear; lucidity\"), we instinctively understand that clarity is something we recognize rather than explain. If something is clear, we \"see\" it, we \"get\" it. If something is not clear, it is opaque, it can\'t be understood.\n\nYes, clarity is the key to <em>any</em> successful pitch, be it an elevator pitch or a media pitch.  If you don\'t say exactly what you mean so that the other party understands, you are not communicating.\n\nIn a <a title=\"Should you be handling your own communications?\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/should-you-be-handling-your-own-communications/\" target=\"_blank\">previous post</a>, I spoke about a woman who gave an elevator pitch that went nowhere. She wasn\'t being clear. She could not distill her message and therefore she was confusing us.\n\nPitches are not about being clever or even about explaining everything there is to know about something--they are about communicating <strong>one central point clearly</strong>.\n\nYou should be answering the key question the entity you are pitching has:\n<ul>\n	<li>Why should I do business with you?</li>\n	<li>Why should my publication run your story?</li>\n	<li>Why should my product be advertising on your channel?</li>\n</ul>\nIf you can\'t give a clear answer to the question you can be as clever and pithy as you like and still not communicate.\n\n&nbsp;','One key to a succesful pitch','','inherit','open','open','','1450-revision','','','2011-10-24 18:05:26','2011-10-24 18:05:26','',1450,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1450-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1453,4,'2011-10-26 19:29:54','2011-10-26 19:29:54','Netflix has just lost 800,000 customers and has seen its share price drop. Why? Because Netflix\'s CEO is a terrible communicator. It is that simple.\n\nI am not going to rehash the whole price hike, Qwiskter debacle here. You can read more and find some really good analysis  by Nick Wingfield and Brian Stelter  on the New York Times <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">(Netflix Lost 800,000 Members, and Good Will</a>).\n\nThe article says this:\n<blockquote>Like many other companies built in Silicon Valley, Netflix prides itself  on its analytical, data-driven approach to making decisions. But it  made a classic business misstep. In its reliance on data and long-term  strategy, the company underestimated the unquantifiable emotions of  subscribers who still want those little red envelopes, even if they  forget to ever watch the DVDs inside.</blockquote>\nIt seems to me that Reed Hastings is probably very good at forecasting and trend analysis and has decided, purely on an analytical basis, that streaming is the future. He then proceeded to move his company full force into that future, <em>while steamrolling over his existing customers.</em> Because he didn\'t view those clients as PEOPLE, he viewed them as revenue sources. And thus, he communicated to them as if he were communicating to inanimate objects.\n\nYou see, revenue sources should not have any kind of emotional reaction to news. But people do. People not only react to news, they SHARE their emotions with others. And you add amplifiers such as social media into the mix, and pretty soon lots of people (also known as customers) are sharing in the bad emotions and being persuaded to act. Which in Netflix\'s case ends up in lost membership.\n\nCommunications starts with the premise that you are connecting with other people, as I said in <a title=\"More ways to communicate; less communication\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication/\" target=\"_blank\">this post</a>. If you fail to connect, you also fail to communicate, and in Netflix\'s case, the damage adds up in monetary losses and hits to your reputation.','Yeah, communications do matter','','inherit','open','open','','1452-revision','','','2011-10-26 19:29:54','2011-10-26 19:29:54','',1452,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1452-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1454,4,'2011-10-26 19:29:57','2011-10-26 19:29:57','Netflix has just lost 800,000 customers and has seen its share price drop. Why? Because Netflix\'s CEO is a terrible communicator. It is that simple.\r\n\r\nI am not going to rehash the whole price hike, Qwiskter debacle here. You can read more and find some really good analysis  by Nick Wingfield and Brian Stelter  on the New York Times <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">(Netflix Lost 800,000 Members, and Good Will</a>).\r\n\r\nThe article says this:\r\n<blockquote>Like many other companies built in Silicon Valley, Netflix prides itself  on its analytical, data-driven approach to making decisions. But it  made a classic business misstep. In its reliance on data and long-term  strategy, the company underestimated the unquantifiable emotions of  subscribers who still want those little red envelopes, even if they  forget to ever watch the DVDs inside.</blockquote>\r\nIt seems to me that Reed Hastings is probably very good at forecasting and trend analysis and has decided, purely on an analytical basis, that streaming is the future. He then proceeded to move his company full force into that future, <em>while steamrolling over his existing customers.</em> Because he didn\'t view those clients as PEOPLE, he viewed them as revenue sources. And thus, he communicated to them as if he were communicating to inanimate objects.\r\n\r\nYou see, revenue sources should not have any kind of emotional reaction to news. But people do. People not only react to news, they SHARE their emotions with others. And you add amplifiers such as social media into the mix, and pretty soon lots of people (also known as customers) are sharing in the bad emotions and being persuaded to act. Which in Netflix\'s case ends up in lost membership.\r\n\r\nCommunications starts with the premise that you are connecting with other people, as I said in <a title=\"More ways to communicate; less communication\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication/\" target=\"_blank\">this post</a>. If you fail to connect, you also fail to communicate, and in Netflix\'s case, the damage adds up in monetary losses and hits to your reputation.','Yeah, communications do matter','','inherit','open','open','','1452-revision-2','','','2011-10-26 19:29:57','2011-10-26 19:29:57','',1452,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1452-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1455,4,'2011-10-26 19:32:05','2011-10-26 19:32:05','Netflix has just lost 800,000 customers and has seen its share price drop. Why? Because Netflix\'s CEO is a terrible communicator. It is that simple.\n\nI am not going to rehash the whole price hike, Qwiskter debacle here. You can read more and find some really good analysis  by Nick Wingfield and Brian Stelter  on the New York Times <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">(Netflix Lost 800,000 Members, and Good Will</a>).\n\nThe article says this:\n<blockquote>Like many other companies built in Silicon Valley, Netflix prides itself  on its analytical, data-driven approach to making decisions. But it  made a classic business misstep. In its reliance on data and long-term  strategy, the company underestimated the unquantifiable emotions of  subscribers who still want those little red envelopes, even if they  forget to ever watch the DVDs inside.</blockquote>\nIt seems to me that Reed Hastings is probably very good at forecasting and trend analysis and has decided, purely on an analytical basis, that streaming is the future. He then proceeded to move his company full force into that future, <em>while steamrolling over his existing customers.</em> Because he didn\'t view those clients as PEOPLE, he viewed them as revenue sources. And thus, he communicated to them as if he were communicating to inanimate objects.\n\nYou see, revenue sources should not have any kind of emotional reaction to news. But people do. People not only react to news, they SHARE their emotions with others. And you add amplifiers such as social media into the mix, and pretty soon lots of people (also known as customers) are sharing in the bad emotions and being persuaded to act. Which in Netflix\'s case ends up in lost membership.\n\nCommunications starts with the premise that you are connecting with other people, as I said in <a title=\"More ways to communicate; less communication\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/more-ways-to-communicate-less-communication/\" target=\"_blank\">this post</a>. If you fail to connect, you also fail to communicate, and in Netflix\'s case, the damage adds up in monetary losses and hits to your reputation.','Yeah, communications do matter','','inherit','open','open','','1452-autosave','','','2011-10-26 19:32:05','2011-10-26 19:32:05','',1452,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1452-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1457,4,'2011-10-28 15:31:16','2011-10-28 15:31:16','A headline can either draw the reader in or not.\r\n\r\nThe Washington Post has different headlines on its website than in the print edition (why this is, I don\'t know). This morning, for example, I barely glanced at Charles Krauthammer\'s op-ed piece \"Libyan \'Crossfire\'.\"  Then, when perusing WashingtonPost.com I saw the following headline:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/libyan-crossfire/2011/10/27/gIQA1DXMNM_story.html?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Krauthammer: Gaddafi justified his rotten death</a>\r\n\r\nNow, that intrigued me. So I clicked and lo and behold, it is the same article.\r\n\r\nA good headline is descriptive, yes, and has an element to make you read further. Writing a good headline will get your article (or press release or blog post) seen (if not read fully).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Think a headline does not matter?','','publish','open','open','','think-a-headline-does-not-matter','','','2011-10-28 15:31:16','2011-10-28 15:31:16','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1457',0,'post','',0),
(1458,4,'2011-10-28 15:30:38','2011-10-28 15:30:38','A headline can either draw the reader in or not.\n\nThe Washington Post has different headlines on its website than in the print edition (why this is, I don\'t know). This morning, for example, I barely glanced at Charles Krauthammer\'s op-ed piece \"Libyan \'Crossfire\'.\"  Then, when perusing WashingtonPost.com I saw the following headline:\n\n<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/libyan-crossfire/2011/10/27/gIQA1DXMNM_story.html?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Krauthammer: Gaddafi justified his rotten death</a>\n\nNow that intrigued me. So I clicked and lo and behold, it is the same article.\n\nA good headline is descriptive, yes, and has an element to make you read further. Writing a good headline will get your article (or press release or blog post) seen (if not read fully).\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Think a headline does not matter?','','inherit','open','open','','1457-revision','','','2011-10-28 15:30:38','2011-10-28 15:30:38','',1457,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1457-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1459,4,'2011-10-28 15:32:21','2011-10-28 15:32:21','A headline can either draw the reader in or not.\n\nThe Washington Post has different headlines on its website than in the print edition (why this is, I don\'t know). This morning, for example, I barely glanced at Charles Krauthammer\'s op-ed piece \"Libyan \'Crossfire\'.\"  Then, when perusing WashingtonPost.com I saw the following headline:\n\n<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/libyan-crossfire/2011/10/27/gIQA1DXMNM_story.html?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Krauthammer: Gaddafi justified his rotten death</a>\n\nNow, that intrigued me. So I clicked and lo and behold, it is the same article.\n\nA good headline is descriptive, yes, and has an element to make you read further. Writing a good headline will get your article (or press release or blog post) seen (if not read fully).\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Think a headline does not matter?','','inherit','open','open','','1457-autosave','','','2011-10-28 15:32:21','2011-10-28 15:32:21','',1457,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/10/1457-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1460,4,'2011-11-01 13:39:17','2011-11-01 13:39:17','Is there a company or organization with which you won\'t do business or give a donation because you feel it has not treated you right? Many of us have this aversion to giving more to those who don\'t do well by us.\r\n\r\nJust a few weeks ago I bought an item at Radio Shack. I was assured that returning it would not be a problem. Well, it wasn\'t a problem <em>per se</em>, other than they required my full address, phone and God knows what else, in spite of the fact I had the receipt and the credit card in hand. Then, I didn\'t actually get the credit until I got American Express involved. After a few days, the credit was done and I had goodwill toward Amex, but resentment toward Radio Shack. Making a return there was a hassle, to say the least, and with that in mind, I won\'t be buying anything at Radio Shack if it can be avoided.\r\n\r\nGoodwill has to do with how we treat others, and how others treat us. If we are treated badly or indifferently, we don\'t like it. <strong>No amount of advertising or public relations will compensate for lack of goodwill. </strong> Radio Shack could have everything on sale, but I am not going to shop there.\r\n\r\nIf a company makes goodwill an integral part of their sales and marketing (and operations), it will pay off. <strong>Goodwill creates happy customers.</strong> Happy customers may become repeat customers, and even goodwill ambassadors. If you have a good experience with something, you will share it.  Similarly, if you have a bad experience, you will share it, and that will take the lack of goodwill viral.\r\n\r\nWith social media, large organizations have the chance to interact directly with people. When I had the problem with Radio Shack, I mentioned the company in a couple of Tweets. And guess what, NO response.\r\n\r\nMore importantly, those of us who use social networks regularly have a chance to build goodwill with our followers (groups). We can answer questions, re-tweet posts, offer encouragement, support causes. And the payoff is goodwill.\r\n\r\nWe are more likely to associate with people and organizations to which we feel goodwill.\r\n\r\nWhat are you doing to create goodwill?','Creating goodwill','','publish','open','open','','creating-goodwill','','','2011-11-01 13:39:17','2011-11-01 13:39:17','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1460',0,'post','',2),
(1461,4,'2011-11-01 13:37:41','2011-11-01 13:37:41','Is there a company or organization with which you won\'t do business or give a donation because you feel it has not treated you right? Many of us have this aversion to giving more to those who don\'t do well by us.\n\nJust a few weeks ago I bought an item at Radio Shack. I was assured that returning it would not be a problem. Well, it wasn\'t a problem <em>per se</em>, other than they required my full address, phone and God knows what else, in spite of the fact I had the receipt and the credit card in hand. Then, I didn\'t actually get the credit until I got American Express involved. After a few days, the credit was done and I had goodwill toward Amex, but resentment toward Radio Shack. Making a return there was a hassle, to say the least, and with that in mind, I won\'t be buying anything at Radio Shack if it can be avoided.\n\nGoodwill has to do with how we treat others, and how others treat us. If we are treated badly or indifferently, we don\'t like it. <strong>No amount of advertising or public relations will compensate for lack of goodwill. </strong> Radio Shack could have everything on sale, but I am not going to shop there.\n\nIf a company makes goodwill an integral part of their sales and marketing (and operations), it will pay off. <strong>Goodwill creates happy customers.</strong> Happy customers may become repeat customers, and even goodwill ambassadors. If you have a good experience with something, you will share it.  Similarly, if you have a bad experience, you will share it, and that will take the lack of goodwill viral.\n\nWith social media, large organizations have the chance to interact directly with people. When I had the problem with Radio Shack, I mentioned the company in a couple of Tweets. And guess what, NO response.\n\nMore importantly, those of us who use social networks regularly have a chance to build goodwill with our followers (groups). We can answer questions, re-tweet posts, offer encouragement, support causes. And the payoff is goodwill.\n\nWe are more likely to associate with people and organizations to which we feel goodwill.\n\nWhat are you doing to create goodwill?','Creating goodwill','','inherit','open','open','','1460-revision','','','2011-11-01 13:37:41','2011-11-01 13:37:41','',1460,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1460-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1466,4,'2011-11-10 17:21:58','2011-11-10 17:21:58','Often, we focus on the here and now.  There\'s nothing wrong with that. However, you shouldn\'t forget about the after.\r\n\r\nYesterday was <a href=\"http://give2max.razoo.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Greater Washington Give to the Max </a>day. Various DC-area nonprofits were beneficiaries of a massive, day-long donation drive. Nonprofits who got the most donors got bonuses. There was an urgency to get donors to give during the day. This resulted in many social media and email messages being sent out by the nonprofits. I receive communication from several nonprofits and all of them sent at least one email during the day if not several. But, only very few sent emails today. <strong>Today is the after, and it is a great opportunity to reaffirm a message. </strong>\r\n\r\nOne nonprofit said thanks on an email. Another posted on Facebook detailing how much money had been raised, and reminding us that we can give ANY day.  This is smart. By forgetting the after, the other nonprofits are losing opportunities and they are seeming to only communicate when they perceive it is necessary (there is a deadline for example).\r\n\r\nNonprofits who use email and social media to ask for support and businesses who sell products and services would do well to think about the after. <strong>What is your message to your target audience AFTER you\'ve told them what you wanted to tell them in the first place?</strong>','Remember the after','','publish','open','open','','remember-the-after','','','2011-11-10 17:21:58','2011-11-10 17:21:58','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1466',0,'post','',0),
(1463,4,'2011-11-02 13:38:47','2011-11-02 13:38:47','If you have been following the news lately, you have heard that Bank of America was planning to impose a $5 monthly fee for customers using their debit cards. The fee has now been scrapped.  The public commentary has been that the \"people\" won in this debacle against the big bank. True, but I am not sure that is the reason why BofA decided to stop the fees.\r\n\r\nHere are my thoughts:\r\n\r\n1) Bank of America was not the only bank to think about imposing these fees. Other banks, including SunTrust, had ALREADY imposed debit card fees. The media covered BofA because it is a very large bank, and had been involved in the bank bailout. The negative publicity was in fact <strong>media-driven</strong> more so than people-driven.\r\n\r\n2) NOT having debit card fees quickly became an advertising selling point for smaller banks. Here in the DC area,  the local Cardinal Bank put out several ads touting its fee-free debit card. <strong>The bigger banks hated giving the smaller banks a great USP.</strong>\r\n\r\n3) Having fees on debit card transactions was a bad idea because it would REDUCE the amount of debit transactions people engaged in.  Banks still get a small percentage every time a customer uses a debit card. The new banking rules simply reduced the amount (did not eliminate it). If people stop using debit cards, there is no fee for the bank and NO PERCENTAGE FROM TRANSACTIONS AT ALL.\r\n\r\n4) The negative publicity was likely not the main factor in getting the banks to reverse course. After all, baggage fees are still alive and kicking in spite of very negative reactions by the flying public.\r\n\r\nWhat are your thoughts?','Bank fees--here today?','','publish','open','open','','bank-fees-here-today','','','2011-11-02 13:38:47','2011-11-02 13:38:47','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1463',0,'post','',0),
(1464,4,'2011-11-02 13:38:11','2011-11-02 13:38:11','If you have been following the news lately, you have heard that Bank of America was planning to impose a $5 monthly fee for customers using their debit cards. The fee has now been scrapped.  The public commentary has been that the \"people\" won in this debacle against the big bank. True, but I am not sure that is the reason why BofA decided to stop the fees.\n\nHere are my thoughts:\n\n1) Bank of America was not the only bank to think about imposing these fees. Other banks, including SunTrust, had ALREADY imposed debit card fees. The media covered BofA because it is a very large bank, and had been involved in the bank bailout. The negative publicity was in fact media-driven more so than people-driven.\n\n2) NOT having debit card fees quickly became an advertising selling point for smaller banks. Here in the DC area,  the local Cardinal Bank put out several ads touting their fee-free debit card. The bigger banks hated giving the smaller banks a great USP.\n\n3) Having fees on debit card transactions was a bad idea because it would REDUCE the amount of debit transactions people engaged in.  Banks still get a small percentage every time a customer uses a debit card. The new banking rules simply reduced the amount (did not eliminate it). If people stop using debit cards, there is no fee for the bank and NO PERCENTAGE FROM TRANSACTIONS AT ALL.\n\n4) The negative publicity was likely not the main factor in getting the banks to reverse course. After all, baggage fees are still alive and kicking in spite of very negative reactions by the flying public.\n\nWhat are your thoughts?','Bank fees--here today?','','inherit','open','open','','1463-revision','','','2011-11-02 13:38:11','2011-11-02 13:38:11','',1463,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1463-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1465,4,'2011-11-02 13:39:51','2011-11-02 13:39:51','If you have been following the news lately, you have heard that Bank of America was planning to impose a $5 monthly fee for customers using their debit cards. The fee has now been scrapped.  The public commentary has been that the \"people\" won in this debacle against the big bank. True, but I am not sure that is the reason why BofA decided to stop the fees.\n\nHere are my thoughts:\n\n1) Bank of America was not the only bank to think about imposing these fees. Other banks, including SunTrust, had ALREADY imposed debit card fees. The media covered BofA because it is a very large bank, and had been involved in the bank bailout. The negative publicity was in fact <strong>media-driven</strong> more so than people-driven.\n\n2) NOT having debit card fees quickly became an advertising selling point for smaller banks. Here in the DC area,  the local Cardinal Bank put out several ads touting its fee-free debit card. <strong>The bigger banks hated giving the smaller banks a great USP.</strong>\n\n3) Having fees on debit card transactions was a bad idea because it would REDUCE the amount of debit transactions people engaged in.  Banks still get a small percentage every time a customer uses a debit card. The new banking rules simply reduced the amount (did not eliminate it). If people stop using debit cards, there is no fee for the bank and NO PERCENTAGE FROM TRANSACTIONS AT ALL.\n\n4) The negative publicity was likely not the main factor in getting the banks to reverse course. After all, baggage fees are still alive and kicking in spite of very negative reactions by the flying public.\n\nWhat are your thoughts?','Bank fees--here today?','','inherit','open','open','','1463-autosave','','','2011-11-02 13:39:51','2011-11-02 13:39:51','',1463,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1463-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1467,4,'2011-11-10 17:21:33','2011-11-10 17:21:33','Often, we focus on the here and now.  There\'s nothing wrong with that. However, you shouldn\'t forget about the after.\n\nYesterday was <a href=\"http://give2max.razoo.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Greater Washington Give to the Max </a>day. Various DC-area nonprofits were beneficiaries of a massive, day-long donation drive. Nonprofits who got the most donors got bonuses. There was an urgency to get donors to give during the day. This resulted in many social media and email messages being sent out by the nonprofits. I receive communication from several nonprofits and all of them sent at least one email during the day if not several. But, only very few sent emails today. Today is the after, and it is a great opportunity to reaffirm a message.\n\nOne nonprofit said thanks on an email. Another posted on Facebook detailing how much money had been raised, and reminding us that we can give ANY day.  This is smart. By forgetting the after, the other nonprofits are losing opportunities and they are seeming to only communicate when they perceive it is necessary (there is a deadline for example).\n\nNonprofits who use email and social media to ask for support and businesses who sell products and services would do well to think about the after. What is your message to your target audience AFTER you\'ve told them what you wanted to tell them in the first place?','Remember the after','','inherit','open','open','','1466-revision','','','2011-11-10 17:21:33','2011-11-10 17:21:33','',1466,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1466-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1468,4,'2011-11-10 17:23:09','2011-11-10 17:23:09','Often, we focus on the here and now.  There\'s nothing wrong with that. However, you shouldn\'t forget about the after.\n\nYesterday was <a href=\"http://give2max.razoo.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Greater Washington Give to the Max </a>day. Various DC-area nonprofits were beneficiaries of a massive, day-long donation drive. Nonprofits who got the most donors got bonuses. There was an urgency to get donors to give during the day. This resulted in many social media and email messages being sent out by the nonprofits. I receive communication from several nonprofits and all of them sent at least one email during the day if not several. But, only very few sent emails today. <strong>Today is the after, and it is a great opportunity to reaffirm a message. </strong>\n\nOne nonprofit said thanks on an email. Another posted on Facebook detailing how much money had been raised, and reminding us that we can give ANY day.  This is smart. By forgetting the after, the other nonprofits are losing opportunities and they are seeming to only communicate when they perceive it is necessary (there is a deadline for example).\n\nNonprofits who use email and social media to ask for support and businesses who sell products and services would do well to think about the after. <strong>What is your message to your target audience AFTER you\'ve told them what you wanted to tell them in the first place?</strong>','Remember the after','','inherit','open','open','','1466-autosave','','','2011-11-10 17:23:09','2011-11-10 17:23:09','',1466,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1466-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1482,4,'2011-11-21 14:24:15','2011-11-21 14:24:15','Last night, I watched Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes attempt to get Grover Norquist to be thoughtful about his no taxes pledge. In case you don\'t know, Norquist, the founder of the misleadingly named \"Americans for Tax Reform\"  is the reason the GOP will not vote for any tax increase regardless of anything.\r\n\r\nI could say a lot about Norquist\'s smarmy demeanor, lack of ethics and sad attempts at humor, but I want to concentrate on one particular aspect of the interview. Norquist said that what American for Tax Reform is trying to accomplish is <strong>to brand the Republican Party as the party of no taxes</strong>. Here is the exchange, taken from <a href=\"http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57327816/the-pledge-grover-norquists-hold-on-the-gop/?pageNum=2&amp;tag=contentMain;contentBody\" target=\"_blank\">CBS News/6o Minutes website:</a>\r\n<blockquote>Norquist claims he got the idea to brand the Republican Party as the  party that would never raise your taxes, when he was just 12 years old  and volunteering for the Nixon campaign. He says it came to him one day  while he was riding home on the school bus.\r\n\r\nNorquist:  If the parties would brand themselves the way Coke and Pepsi and other  products do so that you knew what you were buying, it had quality  control. I vote for the Republican. He or she will not raise my taxes.  I\'ll buy one. I\'ll take that one home.\r\n\r\nKroft: So this is about marketing?\r\n\r\nNorquist: Yes. It\'s a part of that. Yeah, very much so.\r\n\r\nBut  Norquist says the success of any product requires relentless monitoring  and diligent quality control to protect the brand, whether it\'s Coca  Cola or the Republican Party.</blockquote>\r\nThe problem with this scenario is that Norquist seems to think that branding is achieved by threat. Basically, if a GOP candidate does not sign the no-taxes pledge, Norquist will fund his demise. The deal is that pols will sign the pledge and then get money  for their campaigns. If they refuse to sign the pledge, American for Tax Reform will do everything it can to discredit them and will fund any opposing pol who does sign the pledge.  Furthermore, if the pol votes for a tax increase after having signed the pledge (no matter how long ago), Norquist will work to make sure the pol loses his/her seat.\r\n\r\nNorquist is <em>not</em> a marketer--he is a politician who is using power and money to influence (and some would say corrupt) the political process. To really \"market\" the GOP, Norquist would have to do some research. He would have to listen to the average citizen/consumer. He would have to explore what the GOP brand means to people inside and outside the GOP.\r\n\r\nFinally, Norquist is not really trying to REFORM taxes or make them more equitable or fair. He is working to reduce the size of government, as this <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68781.html\" target=\"_blank\">article in Politic</a>o points out.\r\n\r\nWhy not make the GOP the party of \"we don\'t want to be a part of government.\" Many of us could support that.\r\n\r\nYour thoughts?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Grover: You don\'t know marketing','','publish','open','open','','grover-you-dont-know-marketing','','','2011-11-21 14:24:15','2011-11-21 14:24:15','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1482',0,'post','',0),
(1470,4,'2011-11-11 16:10:12','2011-11-11 16:10:12','No doubt you have heard about Rick Perry\'s \"oops\" moment during the GOP debate on Wednesday night.  The 53 second piece, where Perry forgets the third federal agency he would cut if elected president, has been replayed to death. Now, Perry is in full salvaging-his-election-chances mode, as Politico reports in \"<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68115.html\" target=\"_blank\">GOP debate gaffe rocks Rick Perry rescue mission.\" </a>\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this is not a communications problem. It is a leadership problem. Any human being can be forgiven for blanking out or misspeaking. We make mistakes and we correct them. But Rick Perry is not trying to fix one communications misstep. He is trying to resucitate his campaign. I think most people would be willing to overlook Perry\'s brain freeze moment (although the media certainly wasn\'t going to let go of a golden opportunity to make fun of him). However, most people see through Perry\'s swagger and sense that there is not much substance there. It was not that he forgot that he wanted to cut the Department of Energy, but that he thinks that cutting cabinet positions is the way to fix this country.  If we focus on what he did say--that he wants to cut the Department of Education--we can see that he doesn\'t have a communications problem. His message is that getting rid of government will solve the USA\'s problems.\r\n\r\nPerry, like Joe Paterno of Penn State, is someone dealing with a leadership problem. If both these men were true leaders, they would take responsibility for their  mistakes and then make a hard decision to exit the national stage. In Perry\'s case, he should realize that he is not yet cut out for national office, and that his lack of debating ability speaks volumes about his preparedness to deal with off-the-cuff moments that will inevitably crop up in a US president\'s daily life.\r\n\r\nIn Paterno\'s case, the fact that Paterno KNEW  about Sandusky being involved in child molestation and still did not report it, speaks to a failure of leadership.  When Sandusky was indicted, and it became apparent that Paterno was aware of what had happened, Paterno should have offered to step down immediately (take responsibility). Instead, he offered to resign at the END of  football season. Penn State\'s trustees fired him instead. Then Penn State burst into chaos, and Paterno said nothing. He could have been a true leader and coach and told the students that what the trustees did was the right thing, and that rioting was not what they should be doing.\r\n\r\nBoth men may have made communications mistakes, but that was not the problem. In fact, good communications would have only come after they both exercised LEADERSHIP. <strong>Great communicators don\'t always make great leaders, but certainly, great leaders must be great communicators.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is it a communications or a leadership problem?','','publish','open','open','','is-it-a-communications-or-a-leadership-problem','','','2011-11-11 16:10:12','2011-11-11 16:10:12','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1470',0,'post','',0),
(1471,4,'2011-11-11 16:09:09','2011-11-11 16:09:09','No doubt you have heard about Rick Perry\'s \"oops\" moment during the GOP debate on Wednesday night.  The 53 second piece, where Perry forgets the third federal agency he would cut if elected president, has been replayed to death. Now, Perry is in full salvaging-his-election-chances mode, as Politico reports in \"<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68115.html\" target=\"_blank\">GOP debate gaffe rocks Rick Perry rescue mission.\" </a>\n\nIn my opinion, this is not a communications problem. It is a leadership problem. Any human being can be forgiven for blanking out or misspeaking. We make mistakes and we correct them. But Rick Perry is not trying to fix one communications misstep. He is trying to resucitate his campaign. I think most people would be willing to overlook Perry\'s brain freeze moment (although the media certainly wasn\'t going to let go of a golden opportunity to make fun of him). However, most people see through Perry\'s swagger and sense that there is not much substance there. It was not that he forgot that he wanted to cut the Department of Energy, but that he thinks that cutting cabinet positions is the way to fix this country.  If we focus on what he did say--that he wants to cut the Department of Education--we can see that he doesn\'t have a communications problem. His message is that getting rid of government will solve the USA\'s problems.\n\nPerry, like Joe Paterno of Penn State, is someone dealing with a leadership problem. If both these men were true leaders, they would take responsibility for their  mistakes and then make a hard decision to exit the national stage. In Perry\'s case, he should realize that he is not yet cut out for national office, and that his lack of debating ability speaks volumes about his preparedness to deal with off-the-cuff moments that will inevitably crop up in a US president\'s daily life.\n\nIn Paterno\'s case, the fact that Paterno KNEW  about Sandusky being involved in child molestation and still did not report it, speaks to a failure of leadership.  When Sandusky was indicted, and it became apparent that Paterno was aware of what had happened, Paterno should have offered to step down immediately (take responsibility). Instead, he offered to resign at the END of  football season. Penn State\'s trustees fired him instead. Then Penn State burst into chaos, and Paterno said nothing. He could have been a true leader and coach and told the students that what the trustees did was the right thing, and that rioting was not what they should be doing.\n\nBoth men may have made communications mistakes, but that was not the problem. In fact, good communications would have only come after they both exercised LEADERSHIP. <strong>Great communicators don\'t always make great leaders, but certainly, great leaders must be great communicators.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;','Is it a communications or a leadership problem?','','inherit','open','open','','1470-revision','','','2011-11-11 16:09:09','2011-11-11 16:09:09','',1470,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1470-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1485,4,'2011-11-22 14:58:40','2011-11-22 14:58:40','Lately, I feel that we live in a very mediocre world as it relates to communications and writing.  Open up the newspaper most days and you will find a few articles that seem as if they were written by a teenager. Online, I see typos and spelling mistakes galore.  On social media, I see a lot of rude behavior, I suppose reflecting the loss of civility evident everywhere.\r\n\r\nBut, as with all problems, there is an opportunity---an opportunity to shine. Because we are surrounded by mediocrity, working to be better will make you stand out.\r\n\r\nHere are few ways to shine:\r\n\r\n<strong>Mind your grammar, spelling and typing</strong>: Perhaps you need an editor or just a better review of your writing. And, if you aren\'t really that good at grammar, perhaps take a class or read a book to improve your skills.\r\n\r\n<strong>Skip the passive voice:</strong> There is  nothing like reading long passive sentences. It kills your writing. If you don\'t know what I am talking about then you never had a teacher who corrected your passive voice and made it active.\r\n\r\n<strong>Avoid the cliches and jargon:</strong> Another dead giveaway that screams laziness and even stupidity is the overuse of jargon and cliches. People hide behind these words. For instance, the following excerpts are from a job description (let me know if you understand what this person does for a living):\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Stakeholder relationship management</li>\r\n	<li>Standardizing processes, roles and responsibilities</li>\r\n	<li>Outreach strategy</li>\r\n	<li>Virtual collaboration</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Be polite:</strong> If someone writes you an email or leaves you a voice mail, respond. If someone comments on your blog, thank him/her. On Twitter, acknowledge re-tweets.Watch your swearing in a public space (yes, social media is a public space).\r\n\r\n<strong>Think about your audience:</strong> If you think about who your audience is, and what information they need, you will be a huge step ahead. Considering your audience will help determine your language, your timing, etc.\r\n\r\n<strong>Learn how to network effectively:</strong> Perhaps we are spending too much time with our gadgets, but it seems more people are less able to interact personally with others. If you go to a networking event, try speaking to other people. It is as easy as introducing yourself, and asking a simple question (how did you hear about the event, have you been here before, etc.) You may also want to follow up with the people you meet.\r\n\r\n<strong>Be a LinkedIn rock star:</strong> Not a week goes by that I don\'t get a LinkedIn invitation that is a) not personalized and b) from someone I don\'t know.  Sometimes, I go to somebody\'s profile, and it is missing information, does not have photograph, and lists an old position where the person is no longer working.  So, you have the opportunity to shine on LinkedIn by:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Completing your profile (include your photo)</li>\r\n	<li>ALWAYS personalizing invitations</li>\r\n	<li>Not connecting with every Tom, Dick and Jane out there.</li>\r\n	<li>Having an updated job description</li>\r\n	<li>Joining (and participating) in groups</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nHow do you shine? Please share what you do to stand out from the crowd.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','How you can shine','','publish','open','open','','how-you-can-shine','','','2011-11-22 14:58:40','2011-11-22 14:58:40','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1485',0,'post','',0),
(1473,4,'2011-11-14 13:54:35','2011-11-14 13:54:35','Unless you are very young, inexperienced or just plain naive, you probably have a healthy degree of skepticism about whatever a politician says, or for that matter, what is reported in the news.  You have to---there are too many instances of misrepresentation, faulty reporting or just plain lies.  Of course, this is why the source matters. If it is a source that has proven trustworthy, you accept what it says. If the source is unreliable, then you do have to question it more.\r\n\r\nThis leads me to the latest in the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. Now, Cain is parading his up-to-now reticent wife Gloria in an effort to shore up his female trustworthiness bona-fides.  Gloria says that Herman \"totally respects women.\" It is reported via the AP on <a href=\"http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/11/gloria-cain-sex-harassment-claims-don-t-ring-true-69132.html\" target=\"_blank\">WJLA.com</a> and on <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html\" target=\"_blank\">Politico.com</a> . Gloria gives an interview to Fox News\' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (already, you start to see that source matters), which is set to air tonight. Gloria says among other things \"I\'m thinking he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.\"\r\n\r\nThe source matters. Anyone will question Gloria Cain\'s agenda--and recognize that she is trying to protect her husband. Why else would she suddenly be dragged out of her family home, where she has been hiding out these last few months of the campaign? Is she suddenly relishing the spotlight?\r\n\r\nAlways question the source, and act accordingly.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html#ixzz1dggRtglX\"></a>\r\n\r\n</div>','The source matters','','publish','open','open','','the-source-matters','','','2011-11-14 14:03:44','2011-11-14 14:03:44','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1473',0,'post','',0),
(1474,4,'2011-11-14 13:53:39','2011-11-14 13:53:39','Unless you are very young, inexperienced or just plain naive, you probably have a healthy degree of skepticism about whatever a politician says, or for that matter, what is reported in the news.  You have to---there are too many instances of misrepresentation, faulty reporting or just plain lies.  Of course, this is why the source matters. If it is a source that has proven trustworthy, you accept what it says. If the source is unreliable, then you do have to question it more.\n\nThis leads me to the latest in the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. Now, Cain is parading his up-to-now reticent wife Gloria in an effort to shore up his female trustworthiness bona-fides.  Gloria says that Herman \"totally respects women.\" It is reported via the AP on <a href=\"http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/11/gloria-cain-sex-harassment-claims-don-t-ring-true-69132.html\" target=\"_blank\">WJLA.com</a> and on <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html\" target=\"_blank\">Politico.com</a> . Gloria gives an interview to Fox News\' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (already, you start to see that source matters), which is set to air tonight. Gloria says among other things \"I\'m thinking he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.\"\n\nThe source matters. Anyone will question Gloria Cain\'s agenda--and recognize that she is trying to protect here husband. Why else would she suddenly be dragged out of her family home, where she has been hiding out these last few months of the campaign? Is she suddenly relishing the spotlight?\n\nAlways question the source, and act accordingly.\n<div>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html#ixzz1dggRtglX\"></a></div>','The source matters','','inherit','open','open','','1473-revision','','','2011-11-14 13:53:39','2011-11-14 13:53:39','',1473,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1473-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1475,4,'2011-11-14 13:54:35','2011-11-14 13:54:35','Unless you are very young, inexperienced or just plain naive, you probably have a healthy degree of skepticism about whatever a politician says, or for that matter, what is reported in the news.  You have to---there are too many instances of misrepresentation, faulty reporting or just plain lies.  Of course, this is why the source matters. If it is a source that has proven trustworthy, you accept what it says. If the source is unreliable, then you do have to question it more.\r\n\r\nThis leads me to the latest in the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. Now, Cain is parading his up-to-now reticent wife Gloria in an effort to shore up his female trustworthiness bona-fides.  Gloria says that Herman \"totally respects women.\" It is reported via the AP on <a href=\"http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/11/gloria-cain-sex-harassment-claims-don-t-ring-true-69132.html\" target=\"_blank\">WJLA.com</a> and on <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html\" target=\"_blank\">Politico.com</a> . Gloria gives an interview to Fox News\' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (already, you start to see that source matters), which is set to air tonight. Gloria says among other things \"I\'m thinking he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.\"\r\n\r\nThe source matters. Anyone will question Gloria Cain\'s agenda--and recognize that she is trying to protect here husband. Why else would she suddenly be dragged out of her family home, where she has been hiding out these last few months of the campaign? Is she suddenly relishing the spotlight?\r\n\r\nAlways question the source, and act accordingly.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html#ixzz1dggRtglX\"></a></div>','The source matters','','inherit','open','open','','1473-revision-2','','','2011-11-14 13:54:35','2011-11-14 13:54:35','',1473,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1473-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1476,4,'2011-11-14 14:04:50','2011-11-14 14:04:50','Unless you are very young, inexperienced or just plain naive, you probably have a healthy degree of skepticism about whatever a politician says, or for that matter, what is reported in the news.  You have to---there are too many instances of misrepresentation, faulty reporting or just plain lies.  Of course, this is why the source matters. If it is a source that has proven trustworthy, you accept what it says. If the source is unreliable, then you do have to question it more.\n\nThis leads me to the latest in the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. Now, Cain is parading his up-to-now reticent wife Gloria in an effort to shore up his female trustworthiness bona-fides.  Gloria says that Herman \"totally respects women.\" It is reported via the AP on <a href=\"http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/11/gloria-cain-sex-harassment-claims-don-t-ring-true-69132.html\" target=\"_blank\">WJLA.com</a> and on <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html\" target=\"_blank\">Politico.com</a> . Gloria gives an interview to Fox News\' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (already, you start to see that source matters), which is set to air tonight. Gloria says among other things \"I\'m thinking he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.\"\n\nThe source matters. Anyone will question Gloria Cain\'s agenda--and recognize that she is trying to protect her husband. Why else would she suddenly be dragged out of her family home, where she has been hiding out these last few months of the campaign? Is she suddenly relishing the spotlight?\n\nAlways question the source, and act accordingly.\n<div>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68268.html#ixzz1dggRtglX\"></a>\n\n</div>','The source matters','','inherit','open','open','','1473-autosave','','','2011-11-14 14:04:50','2011-11-14 14:04:50','',1473,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1473-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1477,4,'2011-11-15 14:07:05','2011-11-15 14:07:05','A few days ago I received a four-fold brochure in the mail that had this tease on the address panel:\r\n<blockquote>Governor O\'Malley doesn\'t want you to know about this....SHOP TAX FREE</blockquote>\r\nMy first impression was this was a political mailing. It wasn\'t, because on the back panel it says:\r\n<blockquote>Shop Tax Free Every Day\r\n\r\nThe Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg (website, address, phone)\r\n\r\nMidnight Madness -- Thanksgiving Night! Save All Night</blockquote>\r\nOn the inside panels was a listing of participating stores with their different special offers.\r\n\r\nDo you notice any missing information? How about driving directions, or even an indication how far it is from main roads/cities in Maryland?  How about hours?\r\n\r\nThis brochure assumes that saving on taxes would be enough incentive for me to go the website or call to get the information that is missing. That is expecting too much. I did go to the website just to see how this mall does with this piece of marketing communication. The website  does list hours and has a rather unhelpful map under the directions. And also a Facebook link (which is not listed in the brochure).\r\n\r\nI think that if you are going to spend money on printing, it better be worth the money. In this case, the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg  got carried away with an idea--lets tell people in Maryland that we don\'t charge taxes--and went from there. The company neglected to include BASIC information that anybody choosing to shop out of state would need: how do I get there, how long is it going to take and when are you open?\r\n\r\nI would bet anything that this brochure was done in house. If it wasn\'t done in house, it was done by a local agency that knows exactly how to get to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, because there is no other mall like it nearby. In Maryland, there are several outlet shopping malls in state, and others in Northern Virginia.\r\n\r\nTo me, this is a clear example of why you need to get an independent or outside opinion on your marketing materials. You will overlook something and a third party may be able to point it out to you, like I am doing here.\r\n\r\nThoughts?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg needs help','','publish','open','open','','why-the-outlet-shoppes-at-gettysburg-needs-help','','','2011-11-15 14:07:05','2011-11-15 14:07:05','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1477',0,'post','',0),
(1478,4,'2011-11-15 14:06:50','2011-11-15 14:06:50','A few days ago I received a four-fold brochure in the mail that had this tease on the address panel:\n<blockquote>Governor O\'Malley doesn\'t want you to know about this....SHOP TAX FREE</blockquote>\nMy first impression was this was a political mailing. It wasn\'t, because on the back panel it says:\n<blockquote>Shop Tax Free Every Day\n\nThe Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg (website, address, phone)\n\nMidnight Madness -- Thanksgiving Night! Save All Night</blockquote>\nOn the inside panels was a listing of participating stores with their different special offers.\n\nDo you notice any missing information? How about driving directions, or even an indication how far it is from main roads/cities in Maryland?  How about hours?\n\nThis brochure assumes that saving on taxes would be enough incentive for me to go the website or call to get the information that is missing. That is expecting too much. I did go to the website just to see how this mall does with this piece of marketing communication. The website  does list hours and has a rather unhelpful map under the directions. And also a Facebook link (which is not listed in the brochure).\n\nI think that if you are going to spend money on printing, it better be worth the money. In this case, the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg  got carried away with an idea--lets tell people in Maryland that we don\'t charge taxes--and went from there. The company neglected to include BASIC information that anybody choosing to shop out of state would need: how do I get there, how long is it going to take and when are you open?\n\nI would bet anything that this brochure was done in house. If it wasn\'t done in house, it was done by a local agency that knows exactly how to get to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, because there is no other mall like it nearby. In Maryland, there are several outlet shopping malls in state, and others in Northern Virginia.\n\nTo me, this is a clear example of why you need to get an independent or outside opinion on your marketing materials. You will overlook something and a third party may be able to point it out to you, like I am doing here.\n\nThoughts?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Why The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg needs help','','inherit','open','open','','1477-revision','','','2011-11-15 14:06:50','2011-11-15 14:06:50','',1477,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1477-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1479,4,'2011-11-17 19:50:56','2011-11-17 19:50:56','Everybody\'s inbox is full of holiday and event invitations during this time of the year. Between fundraisers and holiday parties, you have enough email to last you until January. If you are the person sending those invitations out, are you having success?\r\n\r\nSuccess starts with having the person open your email, but is sealed when the person makes a decision to attend.\r\n\r\nSometimes, there is too much volume and you could have the perfect invitation and few people will see it. That\'s something to consider during the November-December holiday season. However, you can\'t avoid it if you are keen to have a holiday party or a year-end fundraiser.\r\n\r\nBased on the invites I have been getting, here are my four top tips for making them successful:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Have an informative subject line (Join Joe\'s Christmas Party  on December 22)</li>\r\n	<li>Provide the <strong>all the requisite information</strong>: date, time, location/directions, cost, attire, and any other relevant information. Do not put any of this stuff elsewhere.</li>\r\n	<li>Double (and triple) check the dates, spelling, and the accuracy of the information.</li>\r\n	<li>Include at least on reason as to why this event is a must-attend (biggest fundraiser of the year, more than 200 potential clients, the best food and drink, etc.)</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nThese may seem like good common sense, but I can\'t tell you how many emails I get that:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Have the right day, but the wrong date</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t include location</li>\r\n	<li>Don\'t include cost (and make you click through to registration to find out)</li>\r\n	<li>Give no reason why would want to attend</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYes, this is basic, but minding the basics is the first thing you should do. Once you have covered the basic, the extra credit to make invitations successful is good design. An attractively designed invitation will welcome people, and make them want to be a part of the event.\r\n\r\nWhat do you do to make your invitations stand out from the crowd?','4 tips to make e-invitations successful','','publish','open','open','','4-tips-to-make-e-invitations-successful','','','2011-11-17 19:50:56','2011-11-17 19:50:56','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1479',0,'post','',0),
(1480,4,'2011-11-17 19:50:50','2011-11-17 19:50:50','Everybody\'s inbox is full of holiday and event invitations during this time of the year. Between fundraisers and holiday parties, you have enough email to last you until January. If you are the person sending those invitations out, are you having success?\n\nSuccess starts with having the person open your email, but is sealed when the person makes a decision to attend.\n\nSometimes, there is too much volume and you could have the perfect invitation and few people will see it. That\'s something to consider during the November-December holiday season. However, you can\'t avoid it if you are keen to have a holiday party or a year-end fundraiser.\n\nBased on the invites I have been getting, here are my four top tips for making them successful:\n<ol>\n	<li>Have an informative subject line (Join Joe\'s Christmas Party  on December 22)</li>\n	<li>Provide the <strong>all the requisite information</strong>: date, time, location/directions, cost, attire, and any other relevant information. Do not put any of this stuff elsewhere.</li>\n	<li>Double (and triple) check the dates, spelling, and the accuracy of the information.</li>\n	<li>Include at least on reason as to why this event is a must-attend (biggest fundraiser of the year, more than 200 potential clients, the best food and drink, etc.)</li>\n</ol>\nThese may seem like good common sense, but I can\'t tell you how many emails I get that:\n<ul>\n	<li>Have the right day, but the wrong date</li>\n	<li>Don\'t include location</li>\n	<li>Don\'t include cost (and make you click through to registration to find out)</li>\n	<li>Give no reason why would want to attend</li>\n</ul>\nYes, this is basic, but minding the basics is the first thing you should do. Once you have covered the basic, the extra credit to make invitations successful is good design. An attractively designed invitation will welcome people, and make them want to be a part of the event.\n\nWhat do you do to make your invitations stand out from the crowd?','4 tips to make e-invitations successful','','inherit','open','open','','1479-revision','','','2011-11-17 19:50:50','2011-11-17 19:50:50','',1479,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1479-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1481,4,'2011-11-17 19:52:04','2011-11-17 19:52:04','Everybody\'s inbox is full of holiday and event invitations during this time of the year. Between fundraisers and holiday parties, you have enough email to last you until January. If you are the person sending those invitations out, are you having success?\n\nSuccess starts with having the person open your email, but is sealed when the person makes a decision to attend.\n\nSometimes, there is too much volume and you could have the perfect invitation and few people will see it. That\'s something to consider during the November-December holiday season. However, you can\'t avoid it if you are keen to have a holiday party or a year-end fundraiser.\n\nBased on the invites I have been getting, here are my four top tips for making them successful:\n<ol>\n	<li>Have an informative subject line (Join Joe\'s Christmas Party  on December 22)</li>\n	<li>Provide the <strong>all the requisite information</strong>: date, time, location/directions, cost, attire, and any other relevant information. Do not put any of this stuff elsewhere.</li>\n	<li>Double (and triple) check the dates, spelling, and the accuracy of the information.</li>\n	<li>Include at least on reason as to why this event is a must-attend (biggest fundraiser of the year, more than 200 potential clients, the best food and drink, etc.)</li>\n</ol>\nThese may seem like good common sense, but I can\'t tell you how many emails I get that:\n<ul>\n	<li>Have the right day, but the wrong date</li>\n	<li>Don\'t include location</li>\n	<li>Don\'t include cost (and make you click through to registration to find out)</li>\n	<li>Give no reason why would want to attend</li>\n</ul>\nYes, this is basic, but minding the basics is the first thing you should do. Once you have covered the basic, the extra credit to make invitations successful is good design. An attractively designed invitation will welcome people, and make them want to be a part of the event.\n\nWhat do you do to make your invitations stand out from the crowd?','4 tips to make e-invitations successful','','inherit','open','open','','1479-autosave','','','2011-11-17 19:52:04','2011-11-17 19:52:04','',1479,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1479-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1483,4,'2011-11-21 14:23:42','2011-11-21 14:23:42','Last night, I watched Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes attempt to get Grover Norquist to be thoughtful about his no taxes pledge. In case you don\'t know, Norquist, the founder of the misleadingly named \"Americans for Tax Reform\"  is the reason the GOP will not vote for any tax increase regardless of anything.\n\nI could say a lot about Norquist\'s smarmy demeanor, lack of ethics and sad attempts at humor, but I want to concentrate on one particular aspect of the interview. Norquist said that what American for Tax Reform is trying to accomplish is <strong>to brand the Republican Party as the party of no taxes</strong>. Here is the exchange, taken from <a href=\"http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57327816/the-pledge-grover-norquists-hold-on-the-gop/?pageNum=2&amp;tag=contentMain;contentBody\" target=\"_blank\">CBS News/6o Minutes website:</a>\n<blockquote>Norquist claims he got the idea to brand the Republican Party as the  party that would never raise your taxes, when he was just 12 years old  and volunteering for the Nixon campaign. He says it came to him one day  while he was riding home on the school bus.\n\nNorquist:  If the parties would brand themselves the way Coke and Pepsi and other  products do so that you knew what you were buying, it had quality  control. I vote for the Republican. He or she will not raise my taxes.  I\'ll buy one. I\'ll take that one home.\n\nKroft: So this is about marketing?\n\nNorquist: Yes. It\'s a part of that. Yeah, very much so.\n\nBut  Norquist says the success of any product requires relentless monitoring  and diligent quality control to protect the brand, whether it\'s Coca  Cola or the Republican Party.</blockquote>\nThe problem with this scenario is that Norquist seems to think that branding is achieved by threat. Basically, if a GOP candidate does not sign the no-taxes pledge, Norquist will fund his demise. The deal is that pols will sign the pledge and then get money  for their campaigns. If they refuse to sign the pledge, American for Tax Reform will do everything it can to discredit them and will fund any opposing pol who does sign the pledge.  Furthermore, if the pol votes for a tax increase after having signed the pledge (no matter how long ago), Norquist will work to make sure the pol loses his/her seat.\n\nNorquist is <em>not</em> a marketer--he is a politician who is using power and money to influence (and some would say corrupt) the political process. To really \"market\" the GOP, Norquist would have to do some research. He would have to listen to the average citizen/consumer. He would have to explore what the GOP brand means to people inside and outside the GOP.\n\nFinally, Norquist is not really trying to REFORM taxes or make them more equitable or fair. He is working to reduce the size of government, as this article in Politico points out.\n\nWhy not make the GOP the party of \"we don\'t want to be in government.\" Many of us could support that.\n\nYour thoughts?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Grover: You don\'t know marketing','','inherit','open','open','','1482-revision','','','2011-11-21 14:23:42','2011-11-21 14:23:42','',1482,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1482-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1484,4,'2011-08-19 04:46:26','2011-08-19 04:46:26','<h1><a title=\"Writing/Copywriting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/writing/\">Writing</a></h1>\r\n<h1><a title=\"Translation\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/translation/\">Translation</a></h1>\r\n<h1><a title=\"Communications Consulting\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/communications-consulting/\">Communications Consulting</a></h1>\r\n<h1><a title=\"Communication Audit\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/services/communication-audit/\">Communication Audit</a></h1>','Services','','inherit','open','open','','14-revision-v1','','','2011-08-19 04:46:26','2011-08-19 04:46:26','',14,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/08/14-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1486,4,'2011-11-22 14:39:09','2011-11-22 14:39:09','Lately, I feel that we live in a very mediocre world as it relates to communications and writing.  Open up the newspaper most days and you will find a few articles that seem as if they were written by a teenager. Online, I see typos and spelling mistakes galore.  On social media, I see a lot of rude behavior, I suppose reflecting the loss of civility evident everywhere.\n\nBut, as with all problems, there is an opportunity---an opportunity to shine. Because we are surrounded by mediocrity, working to be better will make you stand out.\n\nHere are few ways to shine:\n\nMind your grammar, spelling and typing: Perhaps you need an editor or just a better review of your writing. And if you aren\'t really that good a grammar, perhaps take a class or read a book to improve your skills.\n\nSkip the passive voice: There is  nothing like reading long passive sentences. It kills your writing. If you don\'t know what I am talking about then you never had a teacher who corrected your passive voice and made it active.\n\nAvoid the cliches and jargon: Another dead giveaway that screams laziness and even stupidity is the overuse of jargon and cliches. People hide behind these words. For instance, the following excerpts are from a job description (let me know if you understand what this person does for a living):\n\n&nbsp;','How you can shine','','inherit','open','open','','1485-revision','','','2011-11-22 14:39:09','2011-11-22 14:39:09','',1485,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1485-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1487,4,'2011-11-22 14:58:35','2011-11-22 14:58:35','Lately, I feel that we live in a very mediocre world as it relates to communications and writing.  Open up the newspaper most days and you will find a few articles that seem as if they were written by a teenager. Online, I see typos and spelling mistakes galore.  On social media, I see a lot of rude behavior, I suppose reflecting the loss of civility evident everywhere.\n\nBut, as with all problems, there is an opportunity---an opportunity to shine. Because we are surrounded by mediocrity, working to be better will make you stand out.\n\nHere are few ways to shine:\n\n<strong>Mind your grammar, spelling and typing</strong>: Perhaps you need an editor or just a better review of your writing. And, if you aren\'t really that good at grammar, perhaps take a class or read a book to improve your skills.\n\n<strong>Skip the passive voice:</strong> There is  nothing like reading long passive sentences. It kills your writing. If you don\'t know what I am talking about then you never had a teacher who corrected your passive voice and made it active.\n\n<strong>Avoid the cliches and jargon:</strong> Another dead giveaway that screams laziness and even stupidity is the overuse of jargon and cliches. People hide behind these words. For instance, the following excerpts are from a job description (let me know if you understand what this person does for a living):\n<ul>\n	<li>Stakeholder relationship management</li>\n	<li>Standardizing processes, roles and responsibilities</li>\n	<li>Outreach strategy</li>\n	<li>Virtual collaboration</li>\n</ul>\n<strong>Be polite:</strong> If someone writes you an email or leaves you a voice mail, respond. If someone comments on your blog, thank him/her. On Twitter, acknowledge re-tweets.Watch your swearing in a public space (yes, social media is a public space).\n\n<strong>Think about your audience:</strong> If you think about who your audience is, and what information they need, you will be a huge step ahead. Considering your audience will help determine your language, your timing, etc.\n\n<strong>Learn how to network effectively:</strong> Perhaps we are spending too much time with our gadgets, but it seems more people are less able to interact personally with others. If you go to a networking event, try speaking to other people. It is as easy as introducing yourself, and asking a simple question (how did you hear about the event, have you been here before, etc.) You may also want to follow up with the people you meet.\n\n<strong>Be a LinkedIn rock star:</strong> Not a week goes by that I don\'t get a LinkedIn invitation that is a) not personalized and b) from someone I don\'t know.  Sometimes, I go to somebody\'s profile, and it is missing information, does not have photograph, and lists an old position where the person is no longer working.  So, you have the opportunity to shine on LinkedIn by:\n<ul>\n	<li>Completing your profile (include your photo)</li>\n	<li>ALWAYS personalizing invitations</li>\n	<li>Not connecting with every Tom, Dick and Jane out there.</li>\n	<li>Having an updated job description</li>\n	<li>Joining (and participating) in groups</li>\n</ul>\nHow do you shine? Please share what you do to stand out from the crowd.\n\n&nbsp;','How you can shine','','inherit','open','open','','1485-revision-2','','','2011-11-22 14:58:35','2011-11-22 14:58:35','',1485,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1485-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1488,4,'2011-11-22 14:59:44','2011-11-22 14:59:44','Lately, I feel that we live in a very mediocre world as it relates to communications and writing.  Open up the newspaper most days and you will find a few articles that seem as if they were written by a teenager. Online, I see typos and spelling mistakes galore.  On social media, I see a lot of rude behavior, I suppose reflecting the loss of civility evident everywhere.\n\nBut, as with all problems, there is an opportunity---an opportunity to shine. Because we are surrounded by mediocrity, working to be better will make you stand out.\n\nHere are few ways to shine:\n\n<strong>Mind your grammar, spelling and typing</strong>: Perhaps you need an editor or just a better review of your writing. And, if you aren\'t really that good at grammar, perhaps take a class or read a book to improve your skills.\n\n<strong>Skip the passive voice:</strong> There is  nothing like reading long passive sentences. It kills your writing. If you don\'t know what I am talking about then you never had a teacher who corrected your passive voice and made it active.\n\n<strong>Avoid the cliches and jargon:</strong> Another dead giveaway that screams laziness and even stupidity is the overuse of jargon and cliches. People hide behind these words. For instance, the following excerpts are from a job description (let me know if you understand what this person does for a living):\n<ul>\n	<li>Stakeholder relationship management</li>\n	<li>Standardizing processes, roles and responsibilities</li>\n	<li>Outreach strategy</li>\n	<li>Virtual collaboration</li>\n</ul>\n<strong>Be polite:</strong> If someone writes you an email or leaves you a voice mail, respond. If someone comments on your blog, thank him/her. On Twitter, acknowledge re-tweets.Watch your swearing in a public space (yes, social media is a public space).\n\n<strong>Think about your audience:</strong> If you think about who your audience is, and what information they need, you will be a huge step ahead. Considering your audience will help determine your language, your timing, etc.\n\n<strong>Learn how to network effectively:</strong> Perhaps we are spending too much time with our gadgets, but it seems more people are less able to interact personally with others. If you go to a networking event, try speaking to other people. It is as easy as introducing yourself, and asking a simple question (how did you hear about the event, have you been here before, etc.) You may also want to follow up with the people you meet.\n\n<strong>Be a LinkedIn rock star:</strong> Not a week goes by that I don\'t get a LinkedIn invitation that is a) not personalized and b) from someone I don\'t know.  Sometimes, I go to somebody\'s profile, and it is missing information, does not have photograph, and lists an old position where the person is no longer working.  So, you have the opportunity to shine on LinkedIn by:\n<ul>\n	<li>Completing your profile (include your photo)</li>\n	<li>ALWAYS personalizing invitations</li>\n	<li>Not connecting with every Tom, Dick and Jane out there.</li>\n	<li>Having an updated job description</li>\n	<li>Joining (and participating) in groups</li>\n</ul>\nHow do you shine? Please share what you do to stand out from the crowd.\n\n&nbsp;','How you can shine','','inherit','open','open','','1485-autosave','','','2011-11-22 14:59:44','2011-11-22 14:59:44','',1485,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1485-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1496,4,'2011-12-05 16:36:51','2011-12-05 16:36:51','How many times have you gone on to a website, and tried to find a phone number or a specific person to email and couldn\'t? Have you ever gotten lost in a phone tree? Have you wanted to comment on a blog but had to jump through hoops?\r\n\r\nIf you have experienced any of these situations (and chances are you have, more than once), you are feeling exactly how difficult it can be to communicate with a company. Some companies and organizations make it especially hard to communicate because they don\'t want to hear from you. Other companies and organizations are simply clueless.\r\n\r\nLet me give you a specific example. I was a member of an organization, and my one-year membership expired. I got an email that went something like this:\r\n<blockquote>Thank you for your support of the XXXX. Just a  friendly reminder that your membership expired on XXX. Please contact us to renew your membership, or visit our website  to renew online: &lt;website link&gt;\r\n\r\nYour support will help us build upon our existing programs that  speak directly to our mission of XXXX.\r\n\r\nFor questions about membership please contact XXX, Development  Manager, at &lt;email address&gt;.\r\n\r\nThank you again for your continued support.</blockquote>\r\nThere is nothing WRONG with this email, per se. But it doesn\'t make it easy for me to renew. Why?\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>It only provides one way to contact a person--via email (no phone).</li>\r\n	<li>It doesn\'t tell me what my cost will be.</li>\r\n	<li>The website link sends me a very slow loading page that a) is not a form; b) requires I have an account or create an account.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn many cases, businesses and organizations don\'t test their communications channels to see the interaction and whether it is easy to use or navigate. Remember that people are pressed for time and will give up quite easily unless they are EXTREMELY motivated.\r\n\r\nThe easier you make it for people, the more business (or donations, renewals, exposure) you will have.\r\n\r\nAre you making it easy for people to connect with you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Make it easy','','publish','open','open','','make-it-easy','','','2011-12-05 21:05:16','2011-12-05 21:05:16','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1496',0,'post','',0),
(1491,4,'2011-11-25 14:58:29','2011-11-25 14:58:29','Here we are--it\'s Black Friday, and plenty of businesses want your business. Between extended (way extended) hours and special deals, people are being lured in to buy. Most of these people have a very specific need in mind (a Christmas gift for their child or a flat screen TV for the family room) and are going in with focus.\r\n\r\nWhich leads me to an experience I had on Tuesday (the day I went to the mall, because, frankly, there is nothing I need so much that I will fight people and crowds today).  It was a classic case of how not to sell.\r\n\r\nI went in to a shoe store---with the intent of shopping for SHOES. I selected a couple of pairs and asked the clerk for my size.  She said \"We are having a sale on our handbags--20% off.\" I nodded.  Then, she brought the shoes out. I slipped them on, and found that they were a bit loose in the heel.  She hadn\'t been paying too much attention to me, and finally asked me how they fit. I said they were loose. She offered to measure my foot...I declined (I already know my shoe size). Then I selected another pair. She brought them out, and she told me the store has  a great deal on socks...get a hole in them and get them replaced for life. I nodded once again. I left the store with no shoes, socks or handbags.\r\n\r\nThe salesperson was trying to sell everything except what I wanted. Most likely, \"corporate\" told its people to upsell and gives a bonus/commission for every non-shoe item sold. But, in this case, this particular salesperson lost sight of what her job is in essence--to sell shoes. In order to do so, she would have had to focus on what I wanted. She could have asked if I was looking for a casual or dressy shoe or whether I needed a wider width, or offered an alternative suggestion when I told her the shoes she brought did not fit. I<strong>nstead, she ignored my needs and focused on her script (mention sale on purses, mention lifetime warranty on socks). How not to sell, plain and simple.</strong>\r\n\r\nTo sell, you have to focus on what your customer wants. That is also plain and simple.','How not to sell','','publish','open','open','','how-not-to-sell','','','2011-11-25 14:58:29','2011-11-25 14:58:29','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1491',0,'post','',0),
(1492,4,'2011-11-25 14:57:44','2011-11-25 14:57:44','Here we are--it\'s Black Friday, and plenty of businesses want your business. Between extended (way extended) hours and special deals, people are being lured in to buy. Most of these people have a very specific need in mind (a Christmas gift for their child or a flat screen TV for the family room) and are going in with focus.\n\nWhich leads me to an experience I had on Tuesday (the day I went to the mall, because, frankly, there is nothing I need so much that I will fight people and crowds today).  It was a classic case of how not to sell.\n\nI went in to a shoe store---with the intent of shopping for SHOES. I selected a couple of pairs and asked the clerk for my size.  She said \"We are having a sale on our handbags--20% off.\" I nodded.  Then, she brought the shoes out. I slipped them on, and found that they were a bit loose in the heel.  She hadn\'t been paying too much attention to me, and finally asked me how they fit. I said they were loose. She offered to measure my foot...I declined (I already know my shoe size). Then I selected another pair. She brought them out, and she told me the store has  a great deal on socks...get a hole in them and get them replaced for life. I nodded once again. I left the store with no shoes, socks or handbags.\n\nThe salesperson was trying to sell everything except what I wanted. Most likely, \"corporate\" told its people to upsell and gives a bonus/commission for every non-shoe item sold. But, in this case, this particular salesperson lost sight of what her job is in essence--to sell shoes. In order to do so, she would have had to focus on what I wanted. She could have asked if I was looking for a casual or dressy shoe or whether I needed a wider width, or offered an alternative suggestion when I told her the shoes she brought did not fit. I<strong>nstead, she ignored my needs and focused on her script (mention sale on purses, mention lifetime warranty on socks). How not t</strong>\n\nTo sell, you have to focus on what your customer wants. It is that simple.','How not to sell','','inherit','open','open','','1491-revision','','','2011-11-25 14:57:44','2011-11-25 14:57:44','',1491,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1491-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1493,4,'2011-11-29 14:22:15','2011-11-29 14:22:15','If you have an organizational enewsletter, who handles it? In my experience, it probably is one of the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Administrative assistant</li>\r\n	<li>Intern</li>\r\n	<li>Volunteer/Development assistant or coordinator (for nonprofits)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAnd yet, an enewsletter should be part of your communications and marketing efforts.  At the very least, your communications/marketing people should take a look at the enewsletter and check for the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Consistency of message</li>\r\n	<li>Use of logo and tagline</li>\r\n	<li>How it fits into the overall messaging/communications campaign</li>\r\n	<li>Timing (is it coming out too close to other communications?)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nOf course, someone needs to be the final editor and proofreader. In the past couple of weeks, I have received an enewsletter that has had date mistakes (saying an event is on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, with Tuesday\'s date) or with location mistakes or even speaker name mistakes.\r\n\r\nThe best way to handle an enewsletter is to have an editorial calendar---created by your communications department--which can adjust for any special events or needs that arise each month. Your admin or intern can write the content, but it must be checked before sending out. Every single time.\r\n\r\nAn enewsletter is a valuable communications tool, which when done right, can help your organization. When done wrong, it can reflect badly on your organization and make people unsubscribe.\r\n\r\nHow do you handle your enewsletter? Do you have any good tips? Please share them in the comments.','Who should handle your enewsletter?','','publish','open','open','','who-should-handle-your-enewsletter','','','2011-11-29 14:22:15','2011-11-29 14:22:15','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1493',0,'post','',0),
(1494,4,'2011-11-29 14:21:49','2011-11-29 14:21:49','If you have an organizational enewsletter, who handles it? In my experience, it probably is one of the following:\n<ul>\n	<li>Administrative assistant</li>\n	<li>Intern</li>\n	<li>Volunteer/Development assistant or coordinator (for nonprofits)</li>\n</ul>\nAnd yet, an enewsletter should be part of your communications and marketing efforts.  At the very least, your communications/marketing people should take a look at the enewsletter and check for the following:\n<ul>\n	<li>Consistency of message</li>\n	<li>Use of logo and tagline</li>\n	<li>How it fits into the overall messaging/communications campaign</li>\n	<li>Timing (is it coming out too close to other communications?)</li>\n</ul>\nOf course, someone needs to be the final editor and proofreader. In the past couple of weeks, I have received an enewsletter that has had date mistakes (saying an event is on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, with Tuesday\'s date) or with location mistakes or even speaker name mistakes.\n\nThe best way to handle an enewsletter is to have an editorial calendar---created by your communications department--which can adjust for any special events or needs that arise each month. Your admin or intern can write the content, but it must be checked before sending out. Every single time.\n\nAn enewsletter is a valuable communications tool, which when done right, can help your organization. When done wrong, it can reflect badly on your organization and make people unsubscribe.\n\nHow do you handle your enewsletter? Do you have any good tips? Please share them in the comments.','Who should handle your enewsletter?','','inherit','open','open','','1493-revision','','','2011-11-29 14:21:49','2011-11-29 14:21:49','',1493,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1493-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1495,4,'2011-11-29 14:23:19','2011-11-29 14:23:19','If you have an organizational enewsletter, who handles it? In my experience, it probably is one of the following:\n<ul>\n	<li>Administrative assistant</li>\n	<li>Intern</li>\n	<li>Volunteer/Development assistant or coordinator (for nonprofits)</li>\n</ul>\nAnd yet, an enewsletter should be part of your communications and marketing efforts.  At the very least, your communications/marketing people should take a look at the enewsletter and check for the following:\n<ul>\n	<li>Consistency of message</li>\n	<li>Use of logo and tagline</li>\n	<li>How it fits into the overall messaging/communications campaign</li>\n	<li>Timing (is it coming out too close to other communications?)</li>\n</ul>\nOf course, someone needs to be the final editor and proofreader. In the past couple of weeks, I have received an enewsletter that has had date mistakes (saying an event is on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, with Tuesday\'s date) or with location mistakes or even speaker name mistakes.\n\nThe best way to handle an enewsletter is to have an editorial calendar---created by your communications department--which can adjust for any special events or needs that arise each month. Your admin or intern can write the content, but it must be checked before sending out. Every single time.\n\nAn enewsletter is a valuable communications tool, which when done right, can help your organization. When done wrong, it can reflect badly on your organization and make people unsubscribe.\n\nHow do you handle your enewsletter? Do you have any good tips? Please share them in the comments.','Who should handle your enewsletter?','','inherit','open','open','','1493-autosave','','','2011-11-29 14:23:19','2011-11-29 14:23:19','',1493,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/11/1493-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1497,4,'2011-12-05 16:35:12','2011-12-05 16:35:12','How many times have you gone on to a website, and tried to find a phone number or a specific person to email and couldn\'t? Have you ever gotten lost in phone tree? Have you wanted to comment on a blog but had to jump through hoops?\n\nIf you have experienced any of these situations (and chances are you have, more than once), you are feeling exactly how difficult it can be to communicate with a company. Some companies and organizations make it especially hard to communicate because they don\'t want to hear from you. Other companies and organizations are simply clueless.\n\nLet me give you a specific example. I was a member of an organization, and my one-year membership expired. I got an email that went something like this:\n<blockquote>Thank you for your support of the XXXX. Just a  friendly reminder that your membership expired on XXX. Please contact us to renew your membership, or visit our website  to renew online: &lt;website link&gt;\n\nYour support will help us build upon our existing programs that  speak directly to our mission of XXXX.\n\nFor questions about membership please contact XXX, Development  Manager, at &lt;email address&gt;.\n\nThank you again for your continued support.</blockquote>\nThere is nothing WRONG with this email, per se. But it doesn\'t make it easy for me to renew. Why?\n<ul>\n	<li>It only provides one way to contact a person--via email (no phone).</li>\n	<li>It doesn\'t tell me what my cost will be.</li>\n	<li>The website link sends me a very slow loading page that a) is not a form; b) requires I have an account or create an account.</li>\n</ul>\nIn many cases, businesses and organizations don\'t test their communications channels to see the interaction and whether it is easy to use or navigate. Remember that people are pressed for time and will give up quite easily unless they are EXTREMELY motivated.\n\nThe easier you make it for people, the more business (or donations, renewals, exposure) you will have.\n\nAre you making it easy for people to connect with you?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Make it easy','','inherit','open','open','','1496-revision','','','2011-12-05 16:35:12','2011-12-05 16:35:12','',1496,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1496-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1498,4,'2011-12-05 16:36:51','2011-12-05 16:36:51','How many times have you gone on to a website, and tried to find a phone number or a specific person to email and couldn\'t? Have you ever gotten lost in phone tree? Have you wanted to comment on a blog but had to jump through hoops?\r\n\r\nIf you have experienced any of these situations (and chances are you have, more than once), you are feeling exactly how difficult it can be to communicate with a company. Some companies and organizations make it especially hard to communicate because they don\'t want to hear from you. Other companies and organizations are simply clueless.\r\n\r\nLet me give you a specific example. I was a member of an organization, and my one-year membership expired. I got an email that went something like this:\r\n<blockquote>Thank you for your support of the XXXX. Just a  friendly reminder that your membership expired on XXX. Please contact us to renew your membership, or visit our website  to renew online: &lt;website link&gt;\r\n\r\nYour support will help us build upon our existing programs that  speak directly to our mission of XXXX.\r\n\r\nFor questions about membership please contact XXX, Development  Manager, at &lt;email address&gt;.\r\n\r\nThank you again for your continued support.</blockquote>\r\nThere is nothing WRONG with this email, per se. But it doesn\'t make it easy for me to renew. Why?\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>It only provides one way to contact a person--via email (no phone).</li>\r\n	<li>It doesn\'t tell me what my cost will be.</li>\r\n	<li>The website link sends me a very slow loading page that a) is not a form; b) requires I have an account or create an account.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn many cases, businesses and organizations don\'t test their communications channels to see the interaction and whether it is easy to use or navigate. Remember that people are pressed for time and will give up quite easily unless they are EXTREMELY motivated.\r\n\r\nThe easier you make it for people, the more business (or donations, renewals, exposure) you will have.\r\n\r\nAre you making it easy for people to connect with you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Make it easy','','inherit','open','open','','1496-revision-2','','','2011-12-05 16:36:51','2011-12-05 16:36:51','',1496,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1496-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1499,4,'2011-12-07 15:40:36','2011-12-07 15:40:36','I got a jar of apple butter on my doorstep the other day. It was from a local real estate agent who delivered this \"gift\" to everyone else in my townhouse community. He is also selling one of the houses in the community. It is not the first thing I get from him. I got a magnetic calendar earlier in the year, and a housing sales report too. But apple butter? Is that too much?\r\n\r\nCan you do too much marketing? Some would argue that as long as you are getting customers/clients, there is probably not too much marketing.  True...but are you doing too much to get those customers/clients? In other words, are you spending more than you have to,  making each acquisition very costly?\r\n\r\nThere is no set formula to figure this out, unfortunately. And you have to accept that much of your marketing effort will be wasted, which is why it is important to figure out how much each client/customer is worth to you.\r\n\r\nIn this case, no amount of apple butter, postcards or calendars will get me to use the real estate agent. I already have a real estate agent, and that is who I will use if I ever need to sell this house or buy another.  I will grant that this amount of marketing is providing HUGE name recognition.  Is it promoting conversion? Not sure.\r\n\r\nI believe that the more targeted your marketing is, the better chance you have of it being effective. In this case, the real estate agent is being geographically targeted, which may be the best he can do. His marketing may not work for me, but should he get one of my neighbors to use him, then perhaps he has achieved his objective.\r\n\r\nWhen is it too much marketing? When it produces few if any results.  And you get there sometimes by trial and error. What do you think makes too much marketing?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Too much marketing?','','publish','open','open','','too-much-marketing','','','2011-12-07 15:40:36','2011-12-07 15:40:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1499',0,'post','',0),
(1500,4,'2011-12-07 15:39:48','2011-12-07 15:39:48','I got a jar of apple butter on my doorstep the other day. It was from a local real estate agent who delivered this \"gift\" to everyone else in my townhouse community. He is also selling one of the houses in the community. It is not the first thing I get from him. I got a magnetic calendar earlier in the year, and a housing sales report too. But apple butter? Is that too much?\n\nCan you do too much marketing? Some would argue that as long as you are getting customers/clients, there is probably not too much marketing.  True...but are you doing too much to get those customers/clients? In other words, are you spending more than you have to,  making each acquisition very costly?\n\nThere is no set formula to figure this out, unfortunately. And you have to accept that much of your marketing effort will be wasted, which is why it is important to figure out how much each client/customer is worth to you.\n\nIn this case, no amount of apple butter, postcards or calendars will get me to use the real estate agent. I already have a real estate agent, and that is who I will use if I ever need to sell this house or buy another.  I will grant that this amount of marketing is providing HUGE name recognition.  Is it promoting conversion? Not sure.\n\nI believe that the more targeted your marketing is, the better chance you have of it being effective. In this case, the real estate agent is being geographically targeted, which may be the best he can do. His marketing may not work for me, but should he get one of my neighbors to use him, then perhaps he has achieved his objective.\n\nWhen is it too much marketing? When it produces few if any results.\n\n&nbsp;','Too much marketing?','','inherit','open','open','','1499-revision','','','2011-12-07 15:39:48','2011-12-07 15:39:48','',1499,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1499-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1501,4,'2011-12-09 13:12:56','2011-12-09 13:12:56','It\'s been a week since I logged into my personal Facebook account. One week in which I haven\'t \"liked\" anything or found out what my \"friends\" are busy doing in their lives.  And guess what? It\'s been OK.\r\n\r\nI decided to avoid Facebook this week because frankly, I am sick of the site.  Between the false feeling of connection to the inspirational quotes, location check-ins and general braggadocio, I am not sure which irritates me the most. And it is definitely not the point to be annoyed when you are on a website.\r\n\r\nThis week I have been on Twitter and LinkedIn. On these social networks I generally learn more than I ever do on Facebook. Twitter provides me with up-to-the-minute news, links to information I may have not seen and a way to chat with people in real-time. LinkedIn lets me see what people are doing professionally.\r\n\r\nThis leads me to social media marketing. If you are relying on just one social network like Facebook to do all your marketing communications, you may be putting all the proverbial eggs in one basket.  You should diversify. Yes, Facebook has a HUGE audience. But it is a POTENTIAL audience, not a measured, constant audience. People do not yet HAVE to go to Facebook every day. They may choose to, but they don\'t need to go there to check mail or get their news.\r\n\r\nI would still counsel you to use Facebook as part of your marketing mix<strong>. Because it is opt-in for people, you are communicating with those who are receptive to your message.</strong> That is truly valuable. Just don\'t share inspirational quotes or you will lose me!\r\n\r\nYour thoughts? How do you feel about Facebook?','One week without Facebook','','publish','open','open','','one-week-without-facebook','','','2011-12-09 13:12:56','2011-12-09 13:12:56','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1501',0,'post','',0),
(1502,4,'2011-12-09 13:12:14','2011-12-09 13:12:14','It\'s been a week since I logged into my personal Facebook account. One week in which I haven\'t \"liked\" anything or found out what my \"friends\" are busy doing in their lives.  And guess what? It\'s been OK.\n\nI decided to avoid Facebook this week because frankly, I am sick of the site.  Between the false feeling of connection to the inspirational quotes, location check-ins and general braggadocio, I am not sure which irritates me the most. And it is definitely not the point to be annoyed when you are on a website.\n\nThis week I have been on Twitter and LinkedIn. On these social networks I generally learn more than I ever do on Facebook. Twitter provides me with up-to-the-minute news, links to information I may have not seen and a way to chat with people in real-time. LinkedIn lets me see what people are doing professionally.\n\nThis leads me to social media marketing. If you are relying on just one social network like Facebook to do all your marketing communications, you may be putting all the proverbial eggs in one basket.  You should diversify. Yes, Facebook has a HUGE audience. But it is a POTENTIAL audience, not a measured, constant audience. People do not yet HAVE to go to Facebook every day. They may choose to, but they don\'t need to go there to check mail or get their news.\n\nI would still counsel you to use Facebook as part of your marketing mix<strong>. Because it is opt-in for people, you are communicating with those who are receptive to your message.</strong> That is truly valuable. Just don\'t share inspirational quotes or you will lose me!\n\nYour thoughts? How do you feel about Facebook?','One week without Facebook','','inherit','open','open','','1501-revision','','','2011-12-09 13:12:14','2011-12-09 13:12:14','',1501,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1501-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1503,4,'2011-12-12 18:28:02','2011-12-12 18:28:02','You know this person right? The person who says \"let\'s get together soon\" but never does anything to make it happen? Or worse, the person who says you should get together and when you follow up, s(he) actually rebuffs you/comes up with an excuse/doesn\'t respond at all.\r\n\r\nIn marketing communications this person is the equivalent of the false brand promise or the product that does not perform as advertised(truth in advertising).\r\n\r\nIt is something to watch out for. If you are marketer--are you blithely promising to get together and then promptly forgetting your promise? That is, are you telling prospects that your product/service  is the most effective way to XXXX, but falling somewhat short?\r\n\r\nYou know what happens when you fail your brand promise? You lose customers, and you most likely won\'t be able to get them back.\r\n\r\nRecently, I attended a business event that was billed as a goal-setting workshop. It wasn\'t. Not even close. Guess what? I am not going back to that group. Same thing happened a few months ago when I attended a local communications group event on the strategic use of video...except there was no mention of strategy whatsoever.\r\n\r\nWhen you fail to do what you promise to do--whether in your marketing efforts or your personal outreach--you lose business (current or potential).\r\n\r\nInstead of saying \"let\'s get together soon\" say \"how about we meet up for coffee on Monday at 2 pm.\"','Let\'s get together soon! (she said)','','publish','open','open','','lets-get-together-soon-she-said','','','2011-12-12 18:28:02','2011-12-12 18:28:02','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1503',0,'post','',0),
(1504,4,'2011-12-12 18:27:01','2011-12-12 18:27:01','You know this person right? The person who says \"let\'s get together soon\" but never does anything to make it happen? Or worse, the person who says you should get together and when you follow up, s(he) actually rebuffs you/comes up with an excuse/doesn\'t respond at all.\n\nIn marketing communications this person is the equivalent of the false brand promise or the product that does not perform as advertised.\n\nIt is something to watch out for. If you are marketer--are you blithely promising to get together and then promptly forgetting your promise? That is, are you telling prospects that your product/service  is the most effective way to XXXX, but falling somewhat short?\n\nYou know what happens when you fail your brand promise? You lose customers, and you most likely won\'t be able to get them back.\n\nRecently, I attended a business event that was billed as a goal-setting workshop. It wasn\'t. Not even close. Guess what? I am not going back to that group. Same thing happened a few months ago when I attended a local communications group event on the strategic use of video...except there was no mention of strategy whatsoever.\n\nWhen you fail to do what you promise to do--whether in your marketing efforts or your personal outreach--you lose business (current or potential).\n\nInstead of saying \"let\'s get together soon\" say \"how about we meet up for coffee on Monday at 2 pm.\" See the difference?','Let\'s get together soon! (she said)','','inherit','open','open','','1503-revision','','','2011-12-12 18:27:01','2011-12-12 18:27:01','',1503,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1503-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1505,4,'2011-12-12 18:28:02','2011-12-12 18:28:02','You know this person right? The person who says \"let\'s get together soon\" but never does anything to make it happen? Or worse, the person who says you should get together and when you follow up, s(he) actually rebuffs you/comes up with an excuse/doesn\'t respond at all.\n\nIn marketing communications this person is the equivalent of the false brand promise or the product that does not perform as advertised(truth in advertising).\n\nIt is something to watch out for. If you are marketer--are you blithely promising to get together and then promptly forgetting your promise? That is, are you telling prospects that your product/service  is the most effective way to XXXX, but falling somewhat short?\n\nYou know what happens when you fail your brand promise? You lose customers, and you most likely won\'t be able to get them back.\n\nRecently, I attended a business event that was billed as a goal-setting workshop. It wasn\'t. Not even close. Guess what? I am not going back to that group. Same thing happened a few months ago when I attended a local communications group event on the strategic use of video...except there was no mention of strategy whatsoever.\n\nWhen you fail to do what you promise to do--whether in your marketing efforts or your personal outreach--you lose business (current or potential).\n\nInstead of saying \"let\'s get together soon\" say \"how about we meet up for coffee on Monday at 2 pm.\"','Let\'s get together soon! (she said)','','inherit','open','open','','1503-autosave','','','2011-12-12 18:28:02','2011-12-12 18:28:02','',1503,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1503-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1517,4,'2011-12-28 15:57:08','2011-12-28 15:57:08','It is inevitable that at the end of the year blogs, newscasts, newspapers and everybody else creates lists for their readers/viewers: best posts of the year, what\'s in and what\'s out, resolutions for 2012, trends, and so on. While some of these are interesting and even though-provoking, I challenge you to make your own list.\r\n\r\nTo make your own list, you will have to sit and reflect a bit. Here are some guiding questions:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>What worked the best for you in terms of marketing communications? (What got the most response, donors, etc.)</li>\r\n	<li>What worked the least for you? (Where did you spend time/money with little or no return?)</li>\r\n	<li>Did you create any partnerships? What worked best/least?</li>\r\n	<li>Did you sponsor anything/anybody? What worked?</li>\r\n	<li>Did you read any business/marketing books? Which provided the best/most actionable advice?</li>\r\n	<li>What ads/commercials were memorable to you? Why?</li>\r\n	<li>What peeved you the most?</li>\r\n	<li>What did your competition do this year that you admired? That you thought was not so good?</li>\r\n	<li>What people/organizations brought you the most value? (Perhaps your graphic designer or your printer...)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>What one marketing communications task that you accomplished this year was the most worthwhile (something like creating a brochure, redesigning a website, launching a blog, etc.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn the <a href=\"http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2011/12/21/4-questions-to-ensure-2012-will-be-your-best-year-yet/\" target=\"_blank\">Escape from Cubicle Nation blog, Pam Slim urges you to ask yourself four questions</a>:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>What did I learn?</li>\r\n	<li>What am I grateful for?</li>\r\n	<li>What will I stop doing?</li>\r\n	<li>What will I start doing?</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nAlthough Ms. Slim is looking at personal growth, I think these questions are valid to determine what your marcomm efforts will be in the new year. Looking through your lists will help you move forward in 2012. The last two questions are especially key. If you found that something you have been doing provides no return on investment, STOP doing it. Start doing something different!\r\n\r\nPlease share your responses or any questions that you ask yourself at year\'s end.','Make your own list','','publish','open','open','','make-your-own-list','','\nhttp://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2011/12/21/4-questions-to-ensure-2012-will-be-your-best-year-yet/','2011-12-28 16:36:47','2011-12-28 16:36:47','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1517',0,'post','',0),
(1507,4,'2011-12-15 16:10:26','2011-12-15 16:10:26','If you are the type to make New Year\'s resolutions, make one to be more effective in your marketing communications efforts.  Being effective--that is, actually successful in producing your intended result--should be the goal of all marketing communications.\r\n\r\nHow can you be more effective? There are several ways to make sure your communications meet their mark, but it probably starts with the basics:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Do you know and understand your <strong>TARGET AUDIENCE</strong>?</li>\r\n	<li>Do you know what your <strong>KEY MESSAGE</strong> is?Are you expressing it clearly and unambiguously?</li>\r\n	<li>Are your properly<strong> TIMING </strong>your communications efforts?</li>\r\n	<li>Do you know your <strong>USP </strong>(unique selling proposition)?</li>\r\n	<li>Are you aware of who your <strong>COMPETITION </strong>and what they are doing?</li>\r\n	<li>Have you gotten <strong>FEEDBACK </strong> from outside sources on your creative? Is it conveying the attributes you are trying to convey?</li>\r\n	<li>Are you following a <strong>STRATEGY</strong> or are you just engaging in <strong>TACTICS</strong>?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWhat are your suggestions for being more effective? Please share in the comments.','Being more effective','','publish','open','open','','being-more-effective','','','2011-12-15 16:10:26','2011-12-15 16:10:26','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1507',0,'post','',0),
(1508,4,'2011-12-15 16:10:08','2011-12-15 16:10:08','If you are the type to make New Year\'s resolutions, make one to be more effective in your marketing communications efforts.  Being effective--that is, actually successful in producing your intended result--should be the goal of all marketing communications.\n\nHow can you be more effective? There are several ways to make sure your communications meet their mark, but it probably starts with the basics:\n<ul>\n	<li>Do you know and understand your <strong>TARGET AUDIENCE</strong>?</li>\n	<li>Do you know what your <strong>KEY MESSAGE</strong> is?Are you expressing it clearly and unambiguously?</li>\n	<li>Are your properly<strong> TIMING </strong>your communications efforts?</li>\n	<li>Do you know your <strong>USP </strong>(unique selling proposition)?</li>\n	<li>Are you aware of who your <strong>COMPETITION </strong>and what they are doing?</li>\n	<li>Have you gotten <strong>FEEDBACK </strong> from outside sources on your creative? Is it conveying the attributes you are trying to convey?</li>\n	<li>Are you following a <strong>STRATEGY</strong> or are you just engaging in <strong>TACTICS</strong>?</li>\n</ul>\nWhat are your suggestions for being more effective? Please share in the comments.','Being more effective','','inherit','open','open','','1507-revision','','','2011-12-15 16:10:08','2011-12-15 16:10:08','',1507,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1507-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1509,4,'2011-12-19 15:20:28','2011-12-19 15:20:28','If you have ever worked with large newspapers, you know there is a strong editorial stance against pay for play, meaning that no matter how much advertising a company provides the newspaper, the journalists/editors will not let that influence their reporting. This line is much more blurred in smaller, local newspapers, where sometimes, a good editorial piece will follow advertising or vice versa.\r\n\r\nIt is important to keep the line of separation between advertising and editorial so that readers can trust the newspaper is not being bought. Imagine that if in a political campaign a certain candidate bought a lot more advertising than the other, and then the editors endorsed said candidate. Wouldn\'t that be questionable?\r\n\r\nWhich brings me to something I couldn\'t quite believe that I saw today in the Washington Post. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/value-added-potomacs-total-wine/2011/12/14/gIQARxW02O_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Thomas Heath wrote his Value Added column praising Total Wine</a>, the Potomac, MD based mega liquour store. Heath writes that one of the ways Total Wine has grown is because of how one of the company\'s founders studied law, so that he could use the knowledge to help change laws regarding liquour in states into which the company was trying to expand. On the opposite page to the column was a junior page ad for--you guessed it--Total Wine. Seriously.  (People who read the paper electronically would never see this...but that is another discussion.)\r\n\r\nWhat is going on here? Heath or his editor tells the Total Wine people he is writing a positive piece about Total Wine, and Total Wine says, in that case we want to advertise, and can you place the ad right next to the column please? And the Post says sure-not a problem? Clearly, there was communication if not straight on hand shaking across advertising and editorial on this one, blurring the lines at the Washington Post. How do we know that Heath was not encouraged to write a positive column on the promise of Total Wine advertising? We don\'t.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Did the Post act appropriately? Would it have mattered if the ad was placed anywhere else in the paper?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Blurred lines between advertising and editorial','','publish','open','open','','blurred-lines-between-advertising-and-editorial','','','2011-12-19 15:20:28','2011-12-19 15:20:28','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1509',0,'post','',2),
(1510,4,'2011-12-19 15:19:55','2011-12-19 15:19:55','If you have ever worked with large newspapers, you know there is a strong editorial stance against pay for play, meaning that no matter how much advertising a company provides the newspaper, the journalists/editors will not let that influence their reporting. This line is much more blurred in smaller, local newspapers, where sometimes, a good editorial piece will follow advertising or vice versa.\n\nIt is important to keep the line of separation between advertising and editorial so that readers can trust the newspaper is not being bought. Imagine that if in a political campaign a certain candidate bought a lot more advertising than the other, and then the editors endorsed said candidate. Wouldn\'t that be questionable?\n\nWhich brings me to something I couldn\'t quite believe that I saw today in the Washington Post. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/value-added-potomacs-total-wine/2011/12/14/gIQARxW02O_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Thomas Heath wrote his Value Added column praising Total Wine</a>, the Potomac, MD based mega liquour store. Heath writes that one of the ways Total Wine has grown is because of how one of the company\'s founders studied law, so that he could use the knowledge to help change laws regarding liquour in states into which the company was trying to expand. On the opposite page to the column was a junior page ad for--you guessed it--Total Wine. Seriously.  (People who read the paper electronically would never see this...but that is another discussion.)\n\nWhat is going on here? Heath or his editor tells the Total Wine people he is writing a positive piece about Total Wine, and Total Wine says, in that case we want to advertise, and can you place the ad right next to the column please? And the Post says sure-not a problem? Clearly, there was communication if not straight on hand shaking across advertising and editorial on this one, blurring the lines at the Washington Post. How do we know that Heath was not encouraged to write a positive column on the promise of Total Wine advertising? We don\'t.\n\nWhat do you think? Did the Post act appropriately? Would it have mattered if the ad was placed anywhere else in the paper?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Blurred lines between advertising and editorial','','inherit','open','open','','1509-revision','','','2011-12-19 15:19:55','2011-12-19 15:19:55','',1509,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1509-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1511,4,'2011-12-20 16:15:17','2011-12-20 16:15:17','Today, in my inbox, I had an email from an online bookseller with this subject line:\r\n\r\n\"Last day for FREE shipping in time for Christmas.\"\r\n\r\nI also had an email from an online drugstore, with this subject line:\r\n\r\n\"NOW OR NEVER: get $5 dollars off your order and free shipping.\"\r\n\r\nAlthough both emails have virtually the same message, the former is URGENT, the latter is THREATENING.\r\n\r\nThreatening is telling me that unless I do something there will be consequences (in the drugstore\'s case, no more free shipping or something). Urgent is telling me that I should act now because time is running out.\r\n\r\nIt is more effective to <strong>show your customers <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">why</span> they should act now</strong> instead of telling them that if they fail to act, they will suffer consequences. Don\'t you agree?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Is threatening your customers ever a good idea?','','publish','open','open','','is-threatening-your-customers-ever-a-good-idea','','','2011-12-20 16:15:17','2011-12-20 16:15:17','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1511',0,'post','',0),
(1512,4,'2011-12-20 16:13:06','2011-12-20 16:13:06','Today, in my inbox, I had an email from an online bookseller with this subject line:\n\n\"Last day for FREE shipping in time for Christmas.\"\n\nI also had an email from an online drugstore, with this subject line:\n\n\"NOW OR NEVER: get $5 dollars off your order and free shipping.\"\n\nAlthough both emails have virtually the same message, the former is URGENT, the latter is THREATENING.\n\nThreatening is telling me that unless I do something there will be consequences (in the drugstore\'s case, no more free shipping or something). Urgent is telling me that I should act now because time is running out.\n\nIt is more effective to <strong>show your customers <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">why</span> they should act now</strong> instead of telling them that if they fail to act, they will suffer consequences. Don\'t you agree?\n\n&nbsp;','Is threatening your customers ever a good idea?','','inherit','open','open','','1511-revision','','','2011-12-20 16:13:06','2011-12-20 16:13:06','',1511,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1511-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1514,4,'2011-12-21 19:09:24','2011-12-21 19:09:24','Today, as most days, I was working out at the gym and observing those around me (the gym can get very boring).  There were some people working up quite a sweat, and there were those that were barely working. Some were older, some were younger. In short, there were all types. But three stood out to me:\r\n\r\n<strong>The multi-tasker:</strong> Today, the multi-tasker was a woman using one of the ellipticals while responding to email and/or texts on her smart phone. She was so engaged with her phone that her legs were barely moving. Was she there to exercise or was she there to deal with work?\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you are distracted from your goal, you won\'t get there. In marketing, you could be trying to do too many things at once and not succeeding in any of them.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The repeater:</strong> The repeater is the person who does the exact same exercise, at the same level of intensity, on the same machine. Always. In this case, I have seen this woman \"run\" at a very slow pace on the exact same machine, at the same time every single day. And guess what--her body is not changing (she is not even breaking a sweat).\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you do the same thing over and over without change you won\'t be effective or see any change. For instance, some companies have always used a full page ad in the Sunday newspaper. And they have been doing that for years. It may produce some results but it will not expand your reach.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The guy wearing jeans at the gym:</strong> Have you seen these guys? They come in to the gym in their jeans (usually with belts too) and sometimes, with street shoes instead of sneakers. How are you going to run in jeans?\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>The lesson:</strong> You have to dress appropriately for the occasion/venue. In marketing terms: you have to know what marketing vehicle is the right one for what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to target seniors, perhaps a spot on the evening news is the best way to go.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nHave you seen these people at your gym?','Marketing lessons from the gym','','publish','open','open','','marketing-lessons-from-the-gym','','','2011-12-21 19:09:24','2011-12-21 19:09:24','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1514',0,'post','',0),
(1515,4,'2011-12-21 19:08:26','2011-12-21 19:08:26','Today, as most days, I was working out at the gym and observing those around me (the gym can get very boring).  There were some people working up quite a sweat, and there were those that were barely working. Some were older, some were younger. In short, there were all types. But three stood out to me:\n\n<strong>The multi-tasker:</strong> Today, the multi-tasker was a woman using one of the ellipticals while responding to email and/or texts on her smart phone. She was so engaged with her phone that her legs were barely moving. Was she there to exercise or was she there to deal with work?\n<ol>\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you are distracted from your goal, you won\'t get there. In marketing, you could be trying to do too many things at once and not succeeding in any of them.</li>\n</ol>\n<strong>The repeater:</strong> The repeater is the person who does the exact same exercise, at the same level of intensity, on the same machine. Always. In this case, I have seen this woman \"run\" at a very slow pace on the exact same machine, at the same time every single day. And guess what--her body is not changing (she is not even breaking a sweat).\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you do the same thing over and over without change you won\'t be effective or see any change. For instance, some companies have always used a full page ad in the Sunday newspaper. And they have been doing that for years. It may produce some results but it will not expand your reach.</li>\n</ul>\n<strong>The guy wearing jeans at the gym:</strong> Have you seen these guys? They come in to the gym in their jeans (usually with belts too) and sometimes, with street shoes instead of sneakers. How are you going to run in jeans?\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>The lesson:</strong> You have to dress appropriately for the occasion/venue. In marketing terms: you have to know what marketing vehicle is the right one for what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to target seniors, perhaps a spot on the evening news is the best way to go.</li>\n</ul>','Marketing lessons from the gym','','inherit','open','open','','1514-revision','','','2011-12-21 19:08:26','2011-12-21 19:08:26','',1514,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1514-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1516,4,'2011-12-21 19:09:33','2011-12-21 19:09:33','Today, as most days, I was working out at the gym and observing those around me (the gym can get very boring).  There were some people working up quite a sweat, and there were those that were barely working. Some were older, some were younger. In short, there were all types. But three stood out to me:\n\n<strong>The multi-tasker:</strong> Today, the multi-tasker was a woman using one of the ellipticals while responding to email and/or texts on her smart phone. She was so engaged with her phone that her legs were barely moving. Was she there to exercise or was she there to deal with work?\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you are distracted from your goal, you won\'t get there. In marketing, you could be trying to do too many things at once and not succeeding in any of them.</li>\n</ul>\n<strong>The repeater:</strong> The repeater is the person who does the exact same exercise, at the same level of intensity, on the same machine. Always. In this case, I have seen this woman \"run\" at a very slow pace on the exact same machine, at the same time every single day. And guess what--her body is not changing (she is not even breaking a sweat).\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>The lesson: </strong>If you do the same thing over and over without change you won\'t be effective or see any change. For instance, some companies have always used a full page ad in the Sunday newspaper. And they have been doing that for years. It may produce some results but it will not expand your reach.</li>\n</ul>\n<strong>The guy wearing jeans at the gym:</strong> Have you seen these guys? They come in to the gym in their jeans (usually with belts too) and sometimes, with street shoes instead of sneakers. How are you going to run in jeans?\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>The lesson:</strong> You have to dress appropriately for the occasion/venue. In marketing terms: you have to know what marketing vehicle is the right one for what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to target seniors, perhaps a spot on the evening news is the best way to go.</li>\n</ul>\nHave you seen these people at your gym?','Marketing lessons from the gym','','inherit','open','open','','1514-autosave','','','2011-12-21 19:09:33','2011-12-21 19:09:33','',1514,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1514-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1518,4,'2011-12-28 15:57:02','2011-12-28 15:57:02','It is inevitable that at the end of the year blogs, newscasts, newspapers and everybody else creates lists for their readers/viewers: best posts of the year, what\'s in and what\'s out, resolutions for 2012, trends, and so on. While some of these are interesting and even though-provoking, I challenge you to make your own list.\n\nTo make your own list, you will have to sit and reflect a bit. Here are some guiding questions:\n<ul>\n	<li>What worked the best for you in terms of marketing communications? (What got the most response, donors, etc.)</li>\n	<li>What worked the least for you? (Where did you spend time/money with little or no return?)</li>\n	<li>Did you create any partnerships? What worked best/least?</li>\n	<li>Did you sponsor anything/anybody? What worked?</li>\n	<li>Did you read any business/marketing books? Which provided the best/most actionable advice?</li>\n	<li>What ads/commercials were memorable to you? Why?</li>\n	<li>What peeved you the most?</li>\n	<li>What did your competition do this year that you admired? That you thought was not so good?</li>\n	<li>What people/organizations brought you the most value? (Perhaps your graphic designer or your printer...)</li>\n</ul>\nWhat one marketing communications task that you accomplished this year was the most worthwhile (something like creating a brochure, redesigning a website, launching a blog, etc.)\n\nIn the <a href=\"http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2011/12/21/4-questions-to-ensure-2012-will-be-your-best-year-yet/\" target=\"_blank\">Escape from Cubicle Nation blog, Pam Slim urges you to ask yourself four questions</a>:\n<ol>\n	<li>What did I learn?</li>\n	<li>What am I grateful for?</li>\n	<li>What will I stop doing?</li>\n	<li>What will I start doing?</li>\n</ol>\nAlthough Ms. Slim is looking at personal growth, I think these questions are valid to determine what your marcomm efforts will be in the new year. Looking through your lists will help you move forward in 2012. The last two questions are especially key. If you found that something you have been doing provides no return on investment, STOP doing it. Start doing something different!\n\nPlease share your responses or any questions that you ask yourself at year\'s end.','Make your own list','','inherit','open','open','','1517-revision','','','2011-12-28 15:57:02','2011-12-28 15:57:02','',1517,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1517-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1519,4,'2011-12-28 15:57:08','2011-12-28 15:57:08','It is inevitable that at the end of the year blogs, newscasts, newspapers and everybody else creates lists for their readers/viewers: best posts of the year, what\'s in and what\'s out, resolutions for 2012, trends, and so on. While some of these are interesting and even though-provoking, I challenge you to make your own list.\r\n\r\nTo make your own list, you will have to sit and reflect a bit. Here are some guiding questions:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>What worked the best for you in terms of marketing communications? (What got the most response, donors, etc.)</li>\r\n	<li>What worked the least for you? (Where did you spend time/money with little or no return?)</li>\r\n	<li>Did you create any partnerships? What worked best/least?</li>\r\n	<li>Did you sponsor anything/anybody? What worked?</li>\r\n	<li>Did you read any business/marketing books? Which provided the best/most actionable advice?</li>\r\n	<li>What ads/commercials were memorable to you? Why?</li>\r\n	<li>What peeved you the most?</li>\r\n	<li>What did your competition do this year that you admired? That you thought was not so good?</li>\r\n	<li>What people/organizations brought you the most value? (Perhaps your graphic designer or your printer...)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWhat one marketing communications task that you accomplished this year was the most worthwhile (something like creating a brochure, redesigning a website, launching a blog, etc.)\r\n\r\nIn the <a href=\"http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2011/12/21/4-questions-to-ensure-2012-will-be-your-best-year-yet/\" target=\"_blank\">Escape from Cubicle Nation blog, Pam Slim urges you to ask yourself four questions</a>:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>What did I learn?</li>\r\n	<li>What am I grateful for?</li>\r\n	<li>What will I stop doing?</li>\r\n	<li>What will I start doing?</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nAlthough Ms. Slim is looking at personal growth, I think these questions are valid to determine what your marcomm efforts will be in the new year. Looking through your lists will help you move forward in 2012. The last two questions are especially key. If you found that something you have been doing provides no return on investment, STOP doing it. Start doing something different!\r\n\r\nPlease share your responses or any questions that you ask yourself at year\'s end.','Make your own list','','inherit','open','open','','1517-revision-2','','','2011-12-28 15:57:08','2011-12-28 15:57:08','',1517,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/12/1517-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1529,4,'2012-01-10 14:15:10','2012-01-10 14:15:10','The Metro in Washington, DC is again considering hiking fares (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/metro-proposes-5-percent-fare-increase/2012/01/06/gIQACLoumP_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">news story in today\'s Washington Post</a>). For those of you who don\'t live in this area, Metro raised its fares a little over a year ago.  Additionally, it made fares even more complex than they already were (there is no flat fare here in DC: there are regular fares and peak fares and the fare changes depending on the distance you are traveling) by adding a peak-of-the-peak fare. None of these changes were popular in 2010, and I assure a fare hike won\'t be welcomed in 2012.\r\n\r\nWhy am I discussing this? Because of this statement by Metro\'s General Manager Richard Sarles in the Washington Post:\r\n<blockquote>Metro officials, however, are promoting the simplification of fares as a plus. The new fare structure would eliminate the “peak-of-the-peak” rate, in which passengers pay a surcharge for riding the subway during the busiest weekday periods. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052704840.html\">It was implemented with the last round of fare increase, in 2010,</a> to ease crowding and encourage riders to use trains just outside the peak periods, but the strategy failed, Sarles said.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We weren’t accomplishing our policy objective, and we were just complicating the fare,” he said.</strong></blockquote>\r\nBasically, Metro thought that by increasing the fares at rush hour fewer people would use the train and this would reduce crowding. But that shows a basic lack of understanding of rush hour--people leave work at around the same time and that is what causes crowding--not the cost of the fare.\r\n\r\nThe strategy was based on an assumption, and was not successful as proven by ridership numbers. Metro is wise to discontinue this policy.  <strong>Strategies (and tactics) that don\'t provide intended results need to be ended.</strong> This is an important point for marketing and communications. How many times do you see a company engaging in the same tactic/strategy regardless of whether it is accomplishing its objective?\r\n\r\nTesting will help. And questioning assumptions will help too. Many people ASSUME things like: if we advertise,  people will know about us.\r\n\r\nBasing strategies on false or untested assumptions will lead to stupid, costly mistakes like Metro\'s peak-of-the-peak fare.\r\n\r\nWhat assumptions are you operating under? What strategies are you basing on those assumptions? Are these strategies really accomplishing your objectives?\r\n\r\nMy advice is to question both assumptions and strategies, and correct course if they are not working.','Testing strategies and the dangers of assumptions','','publish','open','open','','testing-strategies-and-the-dangers-of-assumptions','','','2012-01-10 14:17:00','2012-01-10 14:17:00','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1529',0,'post','',0),
(1521,4,'2012-01-03 14:42:19','2012-01-03 14:42:19','My main wish for 2012 is that it ends up being a better year than 2011 (although that is not a very high bar). In terms of marketing communications, I offer you my top ten lists of what I wish to see more and less of.\r\n\r\nWhat I wish to see <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>more</strong></span> of:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> People/companies      who know the difference between strategy and tactics and that you can’t      substitute one for the other.</li>\r\n	<li>Easy-to-navigate      websites that include REAL contact      information and a comprehensive ABOUT page</li>\r\n	<li>Clever      taglines that actually communicate a message (like Red Lobster’s “Sea Food      Differently”)</li>\r\n	<li>Nonprofits      that understand that marketing communications are an important part of      their operations</li>\r\n	<li>People      who use effect and affect correctly (AKA better copyediting)</li>\r\n	<li>Plain      English</li>\r\n	<li>Thinking      of social media as a tool (like advertising) and not as a substitute for marketing communications as a whole.</li>\r\n	<li>Companies      and organizations that understand that the quality of their customer      service will directly impact their marketing efforts.</li>\r\n	<li>Personalized      LinkedIn invitations</li>\r\n	<li>Connecting      IRL (in real life) with social media friends and followers</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat I wish to see <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>less</strong></span> of:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The      search for the ROI of social media/Klout scores</li>\r\n	<li>Sexist      language (using terms like man hours) and sexist advertising (yes, I am      looking at you Budweiser and GoDaddy)</li>\r\n	<li>Grammatical      mistakes and typos (perennial wish of mine)</li>\r\n	<li>Check-ins</li>\r\n	<li>The      words utilize, monetize, incentivize; and clichéd/meaningless terms      including low hanging fruit, sweet spot, pivot point.</li>\r\n	<li>Sending      out too many enewsletters</li>\r\n	<li>LinkedIn      profiles without a headshot</li>\r\n	<li>Blatant      self promotion and re-tweeting of one’s own tweets/mentions</li>\r\n	<li>Overpriced      and overhyped social media conferences</li>\r\n	<li>Life      lessons and how to live advice from marketing/social media bloggers</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you wish for in 2012?','Communications wishes for 2012','','publish','open','open','','communications-wishes-for-2012','','','2012-01-03 14:43:08','2012-01-03 14:43:08','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1521',0,'post','',0),
(1522,4,'2012-01-03 14:41:25','2012-01-03 14:41:25','My main wish for 2012 is that it ends up being a better year than 2011 (although that is not a very high bar). In terms of marketing communications, I offer you my top ten lists of what I wish to see more and less of.\n\nWhat I wish to see more of:\n<ol>\n	<li> People/companies      who know the difference between strategy and tactics and that you can’t      substitute one for the other.</li>\n	<li>Easy-to-navigate      websites that include REAL contact      information and a comprehensive ABOUT page</li>\n	<li>Clever      taglines that actually communicate a message (like Red Lobster’s “Sea Food      Differently”)</li>\n	<li>Nonprofits      that understand that marketing communications are an important part of      their operations</li>\n	<li>People      who use effect and affect correctly</li>\n	<li>Plain      English</li>\n	<li>Thinking      of social media as a tool (like advertising) and not as a substitute for marketing communications as a whole.</li>\n	<li>Companies      and organizations that understand that the quality of their customer      service will directly impact their marketing efforts.</li>\n	<li>Personalized      LinkedIn invitations</li>\n	<li>Connecting      IRL (in real life) with social media friends and followers</li>\n</ol>\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat I wish to see less of:\n\n&nbsp;\n<ol>\n	<li>The      search for the ROI of social media/Klout scores</li>\n	<li>Sexist      language (using terms like man hours) and sexist advertising (yes, I am      looking at you Budweiser and GoDaddy)</li>\n	<li>Grammatical      mistakes and typos (perennial wish of mine), w</li>\n	<li>Check-ins</li>\n	<li>The      words utilize, monetize, incentivize; and clichéd/meaningless terms      including low hanging fruit, sweet spot, pivot point.</li>\n	<li>Sending      out too many enewsletters</li>\n	<li>LinkedIn      profiles without a headshot</li>\n	<li>Blatant      self promotion and re-tweeting of one’s own tweets/mentions</li>\n	<li>Overpriced      and overhyped social media conferences</li>\n	<li>Life      lessons and how to live advice from marketing/social media bloggers</li>\n</ol>\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you wish for in 2012?','Communications wishes for 2012','','inherit','open','open','','1521-revision','','','2012-01-03 14:41:25','2012-01-03 14:41:25','',1521,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1521-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1523,4,'2012-01-03 14:42:19','2012-01-03 14:42:19','My main wish for 2012 is that it ends up being a better year than 2011 (although that is not a very high bar). In terms of marketing communications, I offer you my top ten lists of what I wish to see more and less of.\r\n\r\nWhat I wish to see more of:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> People/companies      who know the difference between strategy and tactics and that you can’t      substitute one for the other.</li>\r\n	<li>Easy-to-navigate      websites that include REAL contact      information and a comprehensive ABOUT page</li>\r\n	<li>Clever      taglines that actually communicate a message (like Red Lobster’s “Sea Food      Differently”)</li>\r\n	<li>Nonprofits      that understand that marketing communications are an important part of      their operations</li>\r\n	<li>People      who use effect and affect correctly (AKA better copyediting)</li>\r\n	<li>Plain      English</li>\r\n	<li>Thinking      of social media as a tool (like advertising) and not as a substitute for marketing communications as a whole.</li>\r\n	<li>Companies      and organizations that understand that the quality of their customer      service will directly impact their marketing efforts.</li>\r\n	<li>Personalized      LinkedIn invitations</li>\r\n	<li>Connecting      IRL (in real life) with social media friends and followers</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat I wish to see less of:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The      search for the ROI of social media/Klout scores</li>\r\n	<li>Sexist      language (using terms like man hours) and sexist advertising (yes, I am      looking at you Budweiser and GoDaddy)</li>\r\n	<li>Grammatical      mistakes and typos (perennial wish of mine)</li>\r\n	<li>Check-ins</li>\r\n	<li>The      words utilize, monetize, incentivize; and clichéd/meaningless terms      including low hanging fruit, sweet spot, pivot point.</li>\r\n	<li>Sending      out too many enewsletters</li>\r\n	<li>LinkedIn      profiles without a headshot</li>\r\n	<li>Blatant      self promotion and re-tweeting of one’s own tweets/mentions</li>\r\n	<li>Overpriced      and overhyped social media conferences</li>\r\n	<li>Life      lessons and how to live advice from marketing/social media bloggers</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you wish for in 2012?','Communications wishes for 2012','','inherit','open','open','','1521-revision-2','','','2012-01-03 14:42:19','2012-01-03 14:42:19','',1521,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1521-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1524,4,'2012-01-04 14:44:59','2012-01-04 14:44:59','Last night, FINALLY, the results of the Iowa Caucus gave us a more real sense of where people are headed in the GOP race. You can read about the results in this <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2012-iowa-caucus-primary-campaign-ends-with-candidate-attacks/2012/01/03/gIQAN2taYP_story.html?hpid=z1\" target=\"_blank\">Karen Tumulty story for the Washington Post.</a>\r\n\r\nAs you have probably heard <em>ad nauseum</em> the results may or may not indicate who the eventual GOP nominee will be. That said, I think we can draw the following three marketing communications lessons from the caucus:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Advertising works</strong>. Furthermore, negative advertising is VERY powerful. Mitt Romney spent the most and won the caucus (OK, Romney\'s Super PAC spent the most...but that is another discussion).\r\n\r\n2. <strong>It\'s the message AND the messenger</strong>. The message is important, but perhaps not as important as the messenger. People vote for people they like, explaining why Santorum did so well.  Santorum comes across as a sincere, committed and caring person. And he rocks a sweater vest (and sweater vests are what grandads and jolly uncles wear, right?).  Gingrich, who came in at a distant fourth, comes across as pedantic and angry. Even his post-caucus speech was angry (I didn\'t watch it, but read commentary like this <a href=\"http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2012/01/04/the-iowa-caucus-speeches-the-winners-and-losers/\" target=\"_blank\">analysis from Mr. Media Training</a>).\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Be present.</strong> Jon Huntsman made the decision to skip Iowa, and the numbers show it. He came in with 0.6% of the vote.  <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">People like to see something they want to buy, not just hear about it.</span> Lots of pundits describe the Iowa caucus as true retail politics, where politicians meet and greet (in person) their potential supporters. You have to be the bricks and mortar in the case, and not just the virtual.\r\n\r\nWhat did you think? Any marketing lessons you took away?','Marcomm takeaways from the Iowa Caucus','','publish','open','open','','marcomm-takeaways-from-the-iowa-caucus','','\nhttp://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2012/01/04/the-iowa-caucus-speeches-the-winners-and-losers/','2012-01-04 14:44:59','2012-01-04 14:44:59','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1524',0,'post','',0),
(1525,4,'2012-01-04 14:44:33','2012-01-04 14:44:33','Last night, FINALLY, the results of the Iowa Caucus gave us a more real sense of where people are headed in the GOP race. You can read about the results in this <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2012-iowa-caucus-primary-campaign-ends-with-candidate-attacks/2012/01/03/gIQAN2taYP_story.html?hpid=z1\" target=\"_blank\">Karen Tumulty story for the Washington Post.</a>\n\nAs you have probably heard <em>ad nauseum</em> the results may or may not indicate who the eventual GOP nominee will be. That said, I think we can draw the following three marketing communications lessons from the caucus:\n\n1. <strong>Advertising works</strong>. Furthermore, negative advertising is VERY powerful. Mitt Romney spent the most and won the caucus (OK, Romney\'s Super PAC spent the most...but that is another discussion).\n\n2. <strong>It\'s the message AND the messenger</strong>. The message is important, but perhaps not as important as the messenger. People vote for people they like, explaining why Santorum did so well.  Santorum comes across as a sincere, committed and caring person. And he rocks a sweater vest (and sweater vests are what grandads and jolly uncles wear, right?).  Gingrich, who came in at a distant fourth, comes across as pedantic and angry. Even his post-caucus speech was angry (I didn\'t watch it, but read commentary like this <a href=\"http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2012/01/04/the-iowa-caucus-speeches-the-winners-and-losers/\" target=\"_blank\">analysis from Mr. Media Training</a>).\n\n3. <strong>Be present.</strong> Jon Huntsman made the decision to skip Iowa, and the numbers show it. He came in with 0.6% of the vote.  <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">People like to see something they want to buy, not just hear about it.</span> Lots of pundits describe the Iowa caucus as true retail politics, where politicians meet and greet (in person) their potential supporters. You have to be the bricks and mortar in the case, and not just the virtual.','Marcomm takeaways from the Iowa Caucus','','inherit','open','open','','1524-revision','','','2012-01-04 14:44:33','2012-01-04 14:44:33','',1524,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1524-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1526,4,'2012-01-06 15:03:54','2012-01-06 15:03:54','The two or three words that may well guarantee business success are any of these options:\r\n\r\n<strong>Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Thanksgiving, Season\'s Greetings, Best wishes.</strong>\r\n\r\nnot to mention the two most effective words in business:\r\n\r\n<strong>THANK YOU</strong>\r\n\r\nTwo to three words that work to show other people (customers, clients, vendors, business associates) that we are thinking of them. That we value the relationship. That we do not take them or their business for granted.\r\n\r\nThis year, I received a season\'s greetings card from my eye doctor! That was a first for me...I think most doctors take one\'s business for granted.\r\n\r\nThink about whom you received greetings from, and from whom you did not.  Any surprises? Also, if you ordered gifts or other merchandise online, did you receive a thank you for your order? If you didn\'t, would you buy from that retailer again?\r\n\r\nIf I feel my business is not valued, why would I continue to do business with that vendor/merchant/consultant/individual?\r\n\r\nPerhaps sending a greeting or saying thank you is not enough to GUARANTEE success, but it will help prove you think they are important to you. Making sure your customers and clients feel valued will help make it easier to continue to do business with them.\r\n\r\nWhat say you?','Can two or three words guarantee business success?','','publish','open','open','','can-two-or-three-words-guarantee-business-success','','','2012-01-06 16:06:54','2012-01-06 16:06:54','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1526',0,'post','',1),
(1527,4,'2012-01-06 15:03:10','2012-01-06 15:03:10','The two or three words that may well guarantee business success are any of these options:\n\nHappy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Thanksgiving, Season\'s Greetings, Best wishes.\n\nnot to mention the two most effective words in business:\n\nTHANK YOU\n\nTwo to three words that work to show other people (customers, clients, vendors, business associates) that we are thinking of them. That we value the relationship. That we do not take them or their business for granted.\n\nThis year, I received greetings from my eye doctor! That was a first for me...I think most doctors take one\'s business for granted.\n\nThink about whom you received greetings from, and from whom you did not.  Any surprises? Also, if you ordered gifts or other merchandise online, did you receive a thank you for your order? If you didn\'t, would you buy from that retailer again?\n\nIf I feel my business is not valued, why would I continue to do business with that vendor/merchant/consultant/individual?\n\nPerhaps sending a greeting or saying thank you is not enough to GUARANTEE success, but it will help proveYet, making sure your customers and clients feel valued will help make it easier to continue to do business with them.\n\nWhat say you?','Can two or three words guarantee business success?','','inherit','open','open','','1526-revision','','','2012-01-06 15:03:10','2012-01-06 15:03:10','',1526,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1526-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1528,4,'2012-01-06 15:03:54','2012-01-06 15:03:54','The two or three words that may well guarantee business success are any of these options:\r\n\r\nHappy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Thanksgiving, Season\'s Greetings, Best wishes.\r\n\r\nnot to mention the two most effective words in business:\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU\r\n\r\nTwo to three words that work to show other people (customers, clients, vendors, business associates) that we are thinking of them. That we value the relationship. That we do not take them or their business for granted.\r\n\r\nThis year, I received greetings from my eye doctor! That was a first for me...I think most doctors take one\'s business for granted.\r\n\r\nThink about whom you received greetings from, and from whom you did not.  Any surprises? Also, if you ordered gifts or other merchandise online, did you receive a thank you for your order? If you didn\'t, would you buy from that retailer again?\r\n\r\nIf I feel my business is not valued, why would I continue to do business with that vendor/merchant/consultant/individual?\r\n\r\nPerhaps sending a greeting or saying thank you is not enough to GUARANTEE success, but it will help prove you think they are important to you. Making sure your customers and clients feel valued will help make it easier to continue to do business with them.\r\n\r\nWhat say you?','Can two or three words guarantee business success?','','inherit','open','open','','1526-revision-2','','','2012-01-06 15:03:54','2012-01-06 15:03:54','',1526,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1526-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1530,4,'2012-01-10 14:14:44','2012-01-10 14:14:44','The Metro in Washington, DC is again considering hiking fares (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/metro-proposes-5-percent-fare-increase/2012/01/06/gIQACLoumP_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">news story in today\'s Washington Post</a>). For those of you who don\'t live in this area, Metro raised its fares a little over a year ago.  Additionally, it made fares even more complex than they are (there is no flat fare here in DC: there are regular fares and peak fares and the fare changes depending on the distance you are traveling) by adding a peak-of-the-peak fare. None of these changes were popular in 2010, and I assure you they won\'t be welcomed in 2012.\n\nWhy am I discussing this? Because of this statement by Metro\'s General Manager Richard Sarles in the Washington Post:\n<blockquote>Metro officials, however, are promoting the simplification of fares as a plus. The new fare structure would eliminate the “peak-of-the-peak” rate, in which passengers pay a surcharge for riding the subway during the busiest weekday periods. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052704840.html\">It was implemented with the last round of fare increase, in 2010,</a> to ease crowding and encourage riders to use trains just outside the peak periods, but the strategy failed, Sarles said.\n\n<strong>“We weren’t accomplishing our policy objective, and we were just complicating the fare,” he said.</strong></blockquote>\nBasically, Metro thought that by increasing the fares at rush hour fewer people would use the train and this would reduce crowding. But that shows a basic lack of understanding of rush hour--people leave work at around the same time and that is what causes crowding--not the cost of the fare.\n\nThe strategy was based on an assumption, and was not successful as proven by ridership numbers. Metro is wise to discontinue this policy.  <strong>Strategies (and tactics) that don\'t provide intended results need to be ended.</strong> This is an important point for marketing and communications. How many times do you see a company engaging in the same tactic/strategy regardless of whether it is accomplishing its objective?\n\nTesting will help. And questioning assumptions will help too. Many people ASSUME things like: if we advertise,  people will know about us.\n\nBasing strategies on false or untested assumptions will lead to stupid, costly mistakes like Metro\'s peak of the peak fare.\n\nWhat assumptions are you operating under? What strategies are you basing on those assumptions? Are these strategies really accomplishing your objectives?\n\nMy advice is to question both assumptions and strategies, and correct course if they are not working.','Testing strategies and the dangers of assumptions','','inherit','open','open','','1529-revision','','','2012-01-10 14:14:44','2012-01-10 14:14:44','',1529,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1529-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1531,4,'2012-01-10 14:16:15','2012-01-10 14:16:15','The Metro in Washington, DC is again considering hiking fares (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/metro-proposes-5-percent-fare-increase/2012/01/06/gIQACLoumP_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">news story in today\'s Washington Post</a>). For those of you who don\'t live in this area, Metro raised its fares a little over a year ago.  Additionally, it made fares even more complex than they already were (there is no flat fare here in DC: there are regular fares and peak fares and the fare changes depending on the distance you are traveling) by adding a peak-of-the-peak fare. None of these changes were popular in 2010, and I assure a fare hike won\'t be welcomed in 2012.\n\nWhy am I discussing this? Because of this statement by Metro\'s General Manager Richard Sarles in the Washington Post:\n<blockquote>Metro officials, however, are promoting the simplification of fares as a plus. The new fare structure would eliminate the “peak-of-the-peak” rate, in which passengers pay a surcharge for riding the subway during the busiest weekday periods. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052704840.html\">It was implemented with the last round of fare increase, in 2010,</a> to ease crowding and encourage riders to use trains just outside the peak periods, but the strategy failed, Sarles said.\n\n<strong>“We weren’t accomplishing our policy objective, and we were just complicating the fare,” he said.</strong></blockquote>\nBasically, Metro thought that by increasing the fares at rush hour fewer people would use the train and this would reduce crowding. But that shows a basic lack of understanding of rush hour--people leave work at around the same time and that is what causes crowding--not the cost of the fare.\n\nThe strategy was based on an assumption, and was not successful as proven by ridership numbers. Metro is wise to discontinue this policy.  <strong>Strategies (and tactics) that don\'t provide intended results need to be ended.</strong> This is an important point for marketing and communications. How many times do you see a company engaging in the same tactic/strategy regardless of whether it is accomplishing its objective?\n\nTesting will help. And questioning assumptions will help too. Many people ASSUME things like: if we advertise,  people will know about us.\n\nBasing strategies on false or untested assumptions will lead to stupid, costly mistakes like Metro\'s peak of the peak fare.\n\nWhat assumptions are you operating under? What strategies are you basing on those assumptions? Are these strategies really accomplishing your objectives?\n\nMy advice is to question both assumptions and strategies, and correct course if they are not working.','Testing strategies and the dangers of assumptions','','inherit','open','open','','1529-autosave','','','2012-01-10 14:16:15','2012-01-10 14:16:15','',1529,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1529-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1532,4,'2012-01-10 14:15:10','2012-01-10 14:15:10','The Metro in Washington, DC is again considering hiking fares (<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/metro-proposes-5-percent-fare-increase/2012/01/06/gIQACLoumP_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">news story in today\'s Washington Post</a>). For those of you who don\'t live in this area, Metro raised its fares a little over a year ago.  Additionally, it made fares even more complex than they are (there is no flat fare here in DC: there are regular fares and peak fares and the fare changes depending on the distance you are traveling) by adding a peak-of-the-peak fare. None of these changes were popular in 2010, and I assure you they won\'t be welcomed in 2012.\r\n\r\nWhy am I discussing this? Because of this statement by Metro\'s General Manager Richard Sarles in the Washington Post:\r\n<blockquote>Metro officials, however, are promoting the simplification of fares as a plus. The new fare structure would eliminate the “peak-of-the-peak” rate, in which passengers pay a surcharge for riding the subway during the busiest weekday periods. <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052704840.html\">It was implemented with the last round of fare increase, in 2010,</a> to ease crowding and encourage riders to use trains just outside the peak periods, but the strategy failed, Sarles said.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We weren’t accomplishing our policy objective, and we were just complicating the fare,” he said.</strong></blockquote>\r\nBasically, Metro thought that by increasing the fares at rush hour fewer people would use the train and this would reduce crowding. But that shows a basic lack of understanding of rush hour--people leave work at around the same time and that is what causes crowding--not the cost of the fare.\r\n\r\nThe strategy was based on an assumption, and was not successful as proven by ridership numbers. Metro is wise to discontinue this policy.  <strong>Strategies (and tactics) that don\'t provide intended results need to be ended.</strong> This is an important point for marketing and communications. How many times do you see a company engaging in the same tactic/strategy regardless of whether it is accomplishing its objective?\r\n\r\nTesting will help. And questioning assumptions will help too. Many people ASSUME things like: if we advertise,  people will know about us.\r\n\r\nBasing strategies on false or untested assumptions will lead to stupid, costly mistakes like Metro\'s peak of the peak fare.\r\n\r\nWhat assumptions are you operating under? What strategies are you basing on those assumptions? Are these strategies really accomplishing your objectives?\r\n\r\nMy advice is to question both assumptions and strategies, and correct course if they are not working.','Testing strategies and the dangers of assumptions','','inherit','open','open','','1529-revision-2','','','2012-01-10 14:15:10','2012-01-10 14:15:10','',1529,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1529-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1533,4,'2012-01-11 17:00:29','2012-01-11 17:00:29','Sally Falkow writes today in <a href=\"http://www.proactivereport.com/c/pr/good-writing-remains-a-core-pr-skill/\" target=\"_blank\">her blog, The Proactive Repor</a>t, that good writing should be considered a primary public relations skill. I agree (and I wrote about that in my post <a title=\"Qualities of a PR Pro\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2010/03/qualities-of-a-pr-pro/\">Qualities of a PR Pro</a>).\r\n\r\nThe question is not whether PR people should know how to write well, but why they don\'t. April Finnen (@AprilFin) , who writes the blog <a href=\"http://onepersonshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\">One Person Shop</a>, said in a Twitter exchange with me:\r\n<blockquote>\"I think a big part of it is that good writing comes from good thinking, and that\'s becoming harder to find.\"</blockquote>\r\nI answered:\r\n<blockquote>Certainly true, but I do think many people just don\'t do enough reading either (maybe that\'s related to lack of thinking...)</blockquote>\r\nTo which April responded:\r\n<blockquote>\"Agree. If you can find a curious PR pro who reads everything, pretty safe bet they\'re a good writer.\"</blockquote>\r\nIn my opinion, writing well is disappearing because people are reading less. Why is this happening? It may be because they are not curious, not interested, not thinking, working too hard,  or any number of other reasons.\r\n\r\nIf it is lack of curiosity or good thinking, as April says, how are these PR \"pros\" going to come up with strategies to drive a message?\r\n\r\nI can\'t tell you how many PR people I have met who don\'t ever read books for pleasure or even a daily newspaper. How many PR firms offer grammar and writing courses for their associates? How many PR pros today were English majors in college? Fewer and fewer thanks to the devaluing of liberal arts education and the rise of career-focused majors. If all you studied in college was how to create a PR campaign, but you never read a classic novel, how are you going to appreciate the power of language to convey meaning and emotion?\r\n\r\nDo you have thoughts on why good writing is on the decline? Please do share!','Why is writing well a disappearing skill?','','publish','open','open','','why-is-writing-well-a-disappearing-skill','','','2012-01-11 17:02:10','2012-01-11 17:02:10','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1533',0,'post','',0),
(1535,4,'2012-01-11 15:20:51','2012-01-11 15:20:51','Sally Falkow writes today in <a href=\"http://www.proactivereport.com/c/pr/good-writing-remains-a-core-pr-skill/\" target=\"_blank\">her blog The Proactive Repor</a>t that good writing should be considered a primary public relations skill. I agree (and I wrote about that i<a title=\"Qualities of a PR Pro\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2010/03/qualities-of-a-pr-pro/\">n my post </a>Qualities of a PR Pro a couple of years ago).\n\nThe question is not whether PR people should know how to write well, but why they don\'t. April Finnen (@AprilFin) , who writes the blog <a href=\"http://onepersonshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\">One Person Shop</a>, said in a Twitter exchange with me:\n<blockquote>\"I think a big part of it is that good writing comes from good thinking, and that\'s becoming harder to find.\"</blockquote>\nI answered:\n<blockquote>Certainly true, but I do think many people just don\'t do enough reading either (maybe that\'s related to lack of thinking...)</blockquote>\nTo which April responded:\n<blockquote>\"Agree. If you can find a curious PR pro who reads everything, pretty safe bet they\'re a good writer.\"</blockquote>\nIn my opinion, writing well is disappearing because people are reading less. Why is this happening? It may be because they are not curious, not interested, not thinking, working too hard,  etc.\n\nIf it is lack of curiosity or good thinking, as April says, how are these PR \"pros\" going to come up with strategies to drive a message?\n\nI can\'t tell you how many PR people I have met who don\'t read books for pleasure or even a daily newspaper. How many PR firms offer grammar and writing courses for their associates? How many PR pros today were English majors in college? Fewer and fewer thanks to the devaluing of liberal arts education and the rise of career-focused majors. If all you studied in college was how to create a PR campaign, but you never read a classic novel, how are you going to appreciate the power of language to convey meaning and emotion?\n\nDo you have thoughts on why good writing is on the decline? Please do share!','Why is writing well a disappearing skill?','','inherit','open','open','','1533-revision','','','2012-01-11 15:20:51','2012-01-11 15:20:51','',1533,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1533-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1544,4,'2012-01-19 16:09:44','2012-01-19 16:09:44','Inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing--which is better?\r\n\r\nClearly, if you are a business looking for customers, inbound marketing, where people come to you, is better. If potential customers find you, without you having to go out to find them, means something is attracting them to your offering.\r\n\r\nOutbound marketing is where you are spending time and money to find prospective customers who are not otherwise attracted to your offering. It is harder and more costly.\r\n\r\nLately, I have seen a variation of inbound marketing,which is the attempt by businesses to find vendors (not customers)  by asking people to apply for the job.  Similarly, some employers find employees by advertising a position and accepting resumes for it, which often results in receiving an overwhelming amount of resumes where a high percentage of the applicants are not suited for the job. This is why some employers hire headhunters, who search for someone fulfilling the exact qualifications the employer is looking for.\r\n\r\nToday I came across this posting:\r\n<blockquote>I am launching a small site for my new business and I am in need of a copywriter to polish the content on the site.\r\n\r\nIt is a small project about 5 pages tops.\r\n\r\nIf you\'re interested please send me a description of your experience, contact information, and your hourly rate.\r\n\r\nNo resumes please. Convince me.</blockquote>\r\nWhen I saw this, I was intrigued at first and considered \"applying.\" Then , on second thought, I asked myself why this person would put up a posting  like this. First of all, she describes it as a small project. This is probably code for low-budget. And then, that last sentence: Convince me. She is looking for someone to blow her away. It doesn\'t look like a promising situation because it seems this person is looking for someone to write amazing copy at a cut rate price, which may be good for her but not very good for me.\r\n\r\nIs this how you find vendors? I don\'t. I have found vendors by using several ways:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Asking trusted sources</li>\r\n	<li>Searching for vendors who do what I need (for example, doing a Google search of flooring sales in Rockville)</li>\r\n	<li>Using ratings websites like Angie\'s List</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn this way, I am in control of the vendors I contact. And for the vendors, it is inbound marketing, which is more efficient.\r\n\r\nWhat do you say? If you are a vendor, do you (should you) respond to these queries? If you are looking for a vendor, is this the best way to go?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','How do you find vendors (or employees)?','','publish','open','open','','how-do-you-find-vendors-or-employees','','','2012-01-19 16:09:44','2012-01-19 16:09:44','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1544',0,'post','',0),
(1537,4,'2012-01-11 16:59:45','2012-01-11 16:59:45','Sally Falkow writes today in <a href=\"http://www.proactivereport.com/c/pr/good-writing-remains-a-core-pr-skill/\" target=\"_blank\">her blog, The Proactive Repor</a>t, that good writing should be considered a primary public relations skill. I agree (and I wrote about that in my post <a title=\"Qualities of a PR Pro\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2010/03/qualities-of-a-pr-pro/\">Qualities of a PR Pro</a>).\n\nThe question is not whether PR people should know how to write well, but why they don\'t. April Finnen (@AprilFin) , who writes the blog <a href=\"http://onepersonshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\">One Person Shop</a>, said in a Twitter exchange with me:\n<blockquote>\"I think a big part of it is that good writing comes from good thinking, and that\'s becoming harder to find.\"</blockquote>\nI answered:\n<blockquote>Certainly true, but I do think many people just don\'t do enough reading either (maybe that\'s related to lack of thinking...)</blockquote>\nTo which April responded:\n<blockquote>\"Agree. If you can find a curious PR pro who reads everything, pretty safe bet they\'re a good writer.\"</blockquote>\nIn my opinion, writing well is disappearing because people are reading less Why is this happening? It may be because they are not curious, not interested, not thinking, working too hard,  etc.\n\nIf it is lack of curiosity or good thinking, as April says, how are these PR \"pros\" going to come up with strategies to drive a message?\n\nI can\'t tell you how many PR people I have met who don\'t read books for pleasure or even a daily newspaper. How many PR firms offer grammar and writing courses for their associates? How many PR pros today were English majors in college? Fewer and fewer thanks to the devaluing of liberal arts education and the rise of career-focused majors. If all you studied in college was how to create a PR campaign, but you never read a classic novel, how are you going to appreciate the power of language to convey meaning and emotion?\n\nDo you have thoughts on why good writing is on the decline? Please do share!','Why is writing well a disappearing skill?','','inherit','open','open','','1533-revision-2','','','2012-01-11 16:59:45','2012-01-11 16:59:45','',1533,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1533-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1538,4,'2012-01-11 17:00:29','2012-01-11 17:00:29','Sally Falkow writes today in <a href=\"http://www.proactivereport.com/c/pr/good-writing-remains-a-core-pr-skill/\" target=\"_blank\">her blog, The Proactive Repor</a>t, that good writing should be considered a primary public relations skill. I agree (and I wrote about that in my post <a title=\"Qualities of a PR Pro\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2010/03/qualities-of-a-pr-pro/\">Qualities of a PR Pro</a>).\r\n\r\nThe question is not whether PR people should know how to write well, but why they don\'t. April Finnen (@AprilFin) , who writes the blog <a href=\"http://onepersonshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\">One Person Shop</a>, said in a Twitter exchange with me:\r\n<blockquote>\"I think a big part of it is that good writing comes from good thinking, and that\'s becoming harder to find.\"</blockquote>\r\nI answered:\r\n<blockquote>Certainly true, but I do think many people just don\'t do enough reading either (maybe that\'s related to lack of thinking...)</blockquote>\r\nTo which April responded:\r\n<blockquote>\"Agree. If you can find a curious PR pro who reads everything, pretty safe bet they\'re a good writer.\"</blockquote>\r\nIn my opinion, writing well is disappearing because people are reading less Why is this happening? It may be because they are not curious, not interested, not thinking, working too hard,  etc.\r\n\r\nIf it is lack of curiosity or good thinking, as April says, how are these PR \"pros\" going to come up with strategies to drive a message?\r\n\r\nI can\'t tell you how many PR people I have met who don\'t ever read books for pleasure or even a daily newspaper. How many PR firms offer grammar and writing courses for their associates? How many PR pros today were English majors in college? Fewer and fewer thanks to the devaluing of liberal arts education and the rise of career-focused majors. If all you studied in college was how to create a PR campaign, but you never read a classic novel, how are you going to appreciate the power of language to convey meaning and emotion?\r\n\r\nDo you have thoughts on why good writing is on the decline? Please do share!','Why is writing well a disappearing skill?','','inherit','open','open','','1533-revision-3','','','2012-01-11 17:00:29','2012-01-11 17:00:29','',1533,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1533-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1554,4,'2012-01-31 15:03:08','2012-01-31 15:03:08','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\r\n\r\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\r\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\r\nAnd then this:\r\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\r\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\r\n\r\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\r\n\r\nRick Santorum (and when they were still in the race, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\r\n\r\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an \"other\" (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other candidates have called him everything from a socialist to other negative descriptors).\r\n\r\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\r\n\r\nIn marketing, we believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that messages should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?\r\n\r\n<strong>ADDENDUM</strong>: Just came across this piece on CNN.com: <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/opinion/navarrette-immigration-gop/index.html?hpt=hp_t1\" target=\"_blank\">Latinos won\'t forget Romney\'s anti-immigrant talk</a>. Author Ruben Navarrette says this:\r\n<blockquote>the dishonest and cynical way in which the former governor of Massachusetts has dealt with the immigration issue on the campaign trail shows that he has a problem being consistent.</blockquote>\r\nNavarrette goes on to discuss how Romney held a strong line against amnesty, but now has softened his approach to PANDER to the Latino vote.\r\n<blockquote>Now as he competes this week for Hispanic votes in Florida -- and, on Feb 4, in Nevada, where Latinos account for 26.5 percent of the population -- Romney must be hoping that Latinos have bad memories.\r\n\r\nWe don\'t. We never forget a slight. And, in that respect, Romney has given us plenty to remember.</blockquote>','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','publish','open','open','','politicians-pandering-and-the-shifting-message','','','2012-01-31 17:37:31','2012-01-31 17:37:31','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1554',0,'post','',0),
(1540,4,'2012-01-17 15:20:56','2012-01-17 15:20:56','The last post here was about why writing skills might be in decline, and my assertion that it is because people are not reading enough. Today, Gini Dietrich writes in her S<a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/\" target=\"_blank\">pin Sucks blog that reading fiction is beneficial to your career</a> because, among other benefits, it helps fine-tune you social skills, especially your empathy.\r\n\r\nSo, in addition to helping you recognize good writing, expose you to new worlds, teach you new vocabulary and ways of seeing, reading can help you build better connections and be better at work.\r\n\r\nYet, reading alone will not result in a fabulous, well rounded writer/emotionally intelligent being. <strong>You have to practice. You have to interact.</strong> Someone whose nose is always in a book, and who never emerges to deal with the real world is probably not going to be very emotionally intelligent. Also, if you never write and get edited, your writing is never going to improve.\r\n\r\nThe Costa Concordia, in case you haven\'t seen the news in the past two days, is a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship that ran aground near Italy, and sank, killing at least six people onboard.  Last night, on the CBS News, it was reported that the crew did not initially inform the passengers appropriately about the impending disaster. They downplayed the danger, and that led to chaos. Some passengers took matters into their own hands.\r\n\r\nIt seems that people\'s first reaction to bad news is disbelief. They act as if nothing is wrong. Perhaps that\'s what happened to the Costa Concordia\'s crew. Unfortunately, this type of disbelief can lead to tragedy.  There is a also desire to minimize problems.\r\n\r\nThis is why crisis communication training is so important. When crisis happens, reliable information is key. Denial and misinformation will make a bad situation worse.\r\n\r\nAny thoughts? Please share in the comments.','More about reading; and thoughts about the Costa Concordia','','publish','open','open','','more-about-reading-and-thoughts-about-the-costa-concordia','','\nhttp://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/','2012-01-17 15:20:56','2012-01-17 15:20:56','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1540',0,'post','',1),
(1541,4,'2012-01-17 15:19:21','2012-01-17 15:19:21','The last post here was about why writing skills might be in decline, and my assertion that it is because people are not reading enough. Today, Gini Dietrich writes in her S<a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/\" target=\"_blank\">pin Sucks blog that reading fiction is beneficial to your career</a> because, among other benefits, it helps fine-tune you social skills, especially your empathy.\n\nSo, in addition to helping you recognize good writing, expose you to new worlds, teach you new vocabulary and ways of seeing, reading can help you build better connections and be better at work.\n\nYet, reading alone will not result in a fabulous, well rounded writer/emotionally intelligent being. <strong>You have to practice. You have to interact.</strong> Someone whose nose is always in a book, and who never emerges to deal with the real world is probably not going to be very emotionally intelligent. Also, if you never write and get edited, your writing is never going to improve.\n\nThe Costa Concordia, in case you haven\'t seen the news in the past two days, is a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship that ran aground near Italy, and sank, killing at least six people onboard.  Last night, on the CBS News, it was reported that the crew did not initially inform the passengers appropriately about the impending disaster. They downplayed the danger, and that led to chaos. Some passengers took matters into their own hands.\n\nIt seems that people\'s first reaction to bad news is disbelief. They act as if nothing is wrong. Perhaps that\'s what happened to the Costa Concordia\'s crew. Unfortunately, this type of disbelief can lead to tragedy.  There is a also desire to minimize problems.\n\nThis is why crisis communication training is so important. When crisis happens, reliable information is key. Denial and misinformation','More about reading; and thoughts about the Costa Concordia','','inherit','open','open','','1540-revision','','','2012-01-17 15:19:21','2012-01-17 15:19:21','',1540,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1540-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1542,4,'2012-01-17 15:20:05','2012-01-17 15:20:05','The last post here was about why writing skills might be in decline, and my assertion that it is because people are not reading enough. Today, Gini Dietrich writes in her S<a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/\" target=\"_blank\">pin Sucks blog that reading fiction is beneficial to your career</a> because, among other benefits, it helps fine-tune you social skills, especially your empathy.\r\n\r\nSo, in addition to helping you recognize good writing, expose you to new worlds, teach you new vocabulary and ways of seeing, reading can help you build better connections and be better at work.\r\n\r\nYet, reading alone will not result in a fabulous, well rounded writer/emotionally intelligent being. <strong>You have to practice. You have to interact.</strong> Someone whose nose is always in a book, and who never emerges to deal with the real world is probably not going to be very emotionally intelligent. Also, if you never write and get edited, your writing is never going to improve.\r\n\r\nThe Costa Concordia, in case you haven\'t seen the news in the past two days, is a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship that ran aground near Italy, and sank, killing at least six people onboard.  Last night, on the CBS News, it was reported that the crew did not initially inform the passengers appropriately about the impending disaster. They downplayed the danger, and that led to chaos. Some passengers took matters into their own hands.\r\n\r\nIt seems that people\'s first reaction to bad news is disbelief. They act as if nothing is wrong. Perhaps that\'s what happened to the Costa Concordia\'s crew. Unfortunately, this type of disbelief can lead to tragedy.  There is a also desire to minimize problems.\r\n\r\nThis is why crisis communication training is so important. When crisis happens, reliable information is key. Denial and misinformation will make a bad situation worse.\r\n\r\nAny thoughts? Please share in the comments.','More about reading; and thoughts about the Costa Concordia','','inherit','open','open','','1540-revision-2','','','2012-01-17 15:20:05','2012-01-17 15:20:05','',1540,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1540-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1543,4,'2012-01-17 22:06:37','2012-01-17 22:06:37','The last post here was about why writing skills might be in decline, and my assertion that it is because people are not reading enough. Today, Gini Dietrich writes in her S<a href=\"http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/\" target=\"_blank\">pin Sucks blog that reading fiction is beneficial to your career</a> because, among other benefits, it helps fine-tune you social skills, especially your empathy.\n\nSo, in addition to helping you recognize good writing, expose you to new worlds, teach you new vocabulary and ways of seeing, reading can help you build better connections and be better at work.\n\nYet, reading alone will not result in a fabulous, well rounded writer/emotionally intelligent being. <strong>You have to practice. You have to interact.</strong> Someone whose nose is always in a book, and who never emerges to deal with the real world is probably not going to be very emotionally intelligent. Also, if you never write and get edited, your writing is never going to improve.\n\nThe Costa Concordia, in case you haven\'t seen the news in the past two days, is a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship that ran aground near Italy, and sank, killing at least six people onboard.  Last night, on the CBS News, it was reported that the crew did not initially inform the passengers appropriately about the impending disaster. They downplayed the danger, and that led to chaos. Some passengers took matters into their own hands.\n\nIt seems that people\'s first reaction to bad news is disbelief. They act as if nothing is wrong. Perhaps that\'s what happened to the Costa Concordia\'s crew. Unfortunately, this type of disbelief can lead to tragedy.  There is a also desire to minimize problems.\n\nThis is why crisis communication training is so important. When crisis happens, reliable information is key. Denial and misinformation will make a bad situation worse.\n\nAny thoughts? Please share in the comments.','More about reading; and thoughts about the Costa Concordia','','inherit','open','open','','1540-autosave','','','2012-01-17 22:06:37','2012-01-17 22:06:37','',1540,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1540-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1545,4,'2012-01-19 16:09:30','2012-01-19 16:09:30','Inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing--which is better?\n\nClearly, if you are a business looking for customers, inbound marketing, where people come to you, is better. If potential customers find you, without you having to go out to find them, means something is attracting them to your offering.\n\nOutbound marketing is where you are spending time and money to find prospective customers who are not otherwise attracted to your offering. It is harder and more costly.\n\nLately, I have seen a variation of inbound marketing,which is the attempt by businesses to find vendors (not customers)  by asking people to apply for the job.  Similarly, some employers find employees by advertising a position and accepting resumes for it, which often results in receiving an overwhelming amount of resumes where a high percentage of the applicants are not suited for the job. This is why some employers hire headhunters, who search for someone fulfilling the exact qualifications the employer is looking for.\n\nToday I came across this posting:\n<blockquote>I am launching a small site for my new business and I am in need of a copywriter to polish the content on the site.\n\nIt is a small project about 5 pages tops.\n\nIf you\'re interested please send me a description of your experience, contact information, and your hourly rate.\n\nNo resumes please. Convince me.</blockquote>\nWhen I saw this, I was intrigued at first and considered \"applying.\" Then , on second thought, I asked myself why this person would put up a posting  like this. First of all, she describes it as a small project. This is probably code for low-budget. And then, that last sentence: Convince me. She is looking for someone to blow her away. It doesn\'t look like a promising situation because it seems this person is looking for someone to write amazing copy at a cut rate price, which may be good for her but not very good for me.\n\nIs this how you find vendors? I don\'t. I have found vendors by using several ways:\n<ul>\n	<li>Asking trusted sources</li>\n	<li>Searching for vendors who do what I need (for example, doing a Google search of flooring sales in Rockville)</li>\n	<li>Using ratings websites like Angie\'s List</li>\n</ul>\nIn this way, I am in control of the vendors I contact. And for the vendors, it is inbound marketing, which is more efficient.\n\nWhat do you say? If you are a vendor, do you (should you) respond to these queries? If you are looking for a vendor, is this the best way to go?\n\n&nbsp;','How do you find vendors (or employees)?','','inherit','open','open','','1544-revision','','','2012-01-19 16:09:30','2012-01-19 16:09:30','',1544,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1544-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1546,4,'2012-01-20 15:59:07','2012-01-20 15:59:07','Show <em>and</em> tell.  Sure you can just show, or you can just tell, but believe me, doing both will be more effective. I promise.\r\n\r\nWhat makes me even write about this? Well, it turns out I am in the market for some dining room furniture, and have been looking through Craigslist to see if I can find anything appropriate and within budget. In any case, I have come across a great many postings that say something like this:\r\n\r\nLike new dining room set with 6 chairs, extension leaf. Contemporary style.\r\n\r\nBut there is no picture. No picture for me to see if I like the style or the color or anything. You have to have a picture if you want to sell a dining room set...or anything else that people buy based on looks!\r\n\r\n<strong>Tell, and show.</strong>\r\n\r\nShowing alone doesn\'t do the trick either. Some people (and many of these are marketers who paid lots and lots of money for a fine looking website/brochure/advertisement) think fancy graphics and beautiful design will compensate for a lack of content.\r\n\r\nNo. No. No.\r\n\r\nA potential client was telling me she was looking for \"sexy\" copy to relaunch her website. I asked her if she could point to websites in her field that she deemed to be \"sexy.\" She sent me to a much more attractive website than hers. But guess what, the content was just as deadly dull and meaningless as hers. It just looked better (ok, much better).\r\n\r\n<strong>Show, and tell.</strong>\r\n\r\nPretty but empty does not sell your product or service. People need information--both visual and intellectual--to make a buying decision.','Show and tell','','publish','open','open','','show-and-tell','','','2012-01-20 15:59:07','2012-01-20 15:59:07','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1546',0,'post','',0),
(1547,4,'2012-01-20 15:58:26','2012-01-20 15:58:26','Show <em>and</em> tell.  Sure you can just show, or you can just tell, but believe me, doing both will be more effective. I promise.\n\nWhat makes me even write about this? Well, it turns out I am in the market for some dining room furniture, and have been looking through Craigslist to see if I can find anything appropriate and within budget. In any case, I have come across a great many postings that say something like this:\n\nLike new dining room set with 6 chairs, extension leaf. Contemporary style.\n\nBut there is no picture. No picture for me to see if I like the style or the color or anything. You have to have a picture if you want to sell a dining room set...or anything else that people buy based on looks!\n\n<strong>Tell, and show.</strong>\n\nShowing alone doesn\'t do the trick either. Some people (and many of these are marketers who paid lots and lots of money for a fine looking website/brochure/advertisement) think fancy graphics and beautiful design will compensate for a lack of content.\n\nNo. No. No.\n\nA potential client was telling me she was looking for \"sexy\" copy to relaunch her website. I asked her if she could point to websites in her field that she deemed to be \"sexy.\" She sent me to a much more attractive website than hers. But guess what, the content was just as deadly dull and meaningless as hers. It just looked better (ok, much better).\n\n<strong>Show, and tell.</strong>\n\nPretty but empty does not sell your product or service. People need information--both visual and intellectual--to make a buying decision.','Show and tell','','inherit','open','open','','1546-revision','','','2012-01-20 15:58:26','2012-01-20 15:58:26','',1546,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1546-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1548,4,'2012-01-20 16:00:18','2012-01-20 16:00:18','Show <em>and</em> tell.  Sure you can just show, or you can just tell, but believe me, doing both will be more effective. I promise.\n\nWhat makes me even write about this? Well, it turns out I am in the market for some dining room furniture, and have been looking through Craigslist to see if I can find anything appropriate and within budget. In any case, I have come across a great many postings that say something like this:\n\nLike new dining room set with 6 chairs, extension leaf. Contemporary style.\n\nBut there is no picture. No picture for me to see if I like the style or the color or anything. You have to have a picture if you want to sell a dining room set...or anything else that people buy based on looks!\n\n<strong>Tell, and show.</strong>\n\nShowing alone doesn\'t do the trick either. Some people (and many of these are marketers who paid lots and lots of money for a fine looking website/brochure/advertisement) think fancy graphics and beautiful design will compensate for a lack of content.\n\nNo. No. No.\n\nA potential client was telling me she was looking for \"sexy\" copy to relaunch her website. I asked her if she could point to websites in her field that she deemed to be \"sexy.\" She sent me to a much more attractive website than hers. But guess what, the content was just as deadly dull and meaningless as hers. It just looked better (ok, much better).\n\n<strong>Show, and tell.</strong>\n\nPretty but empty does not sell your product or service. People need information--both visual and intellectual--to make a buying decision.','Show and tell','','inherit','open','open','','1546-autosave','','','2012-01-20 16:00:18','2012-01-20 16:00:18','',1546,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1546-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1549,4,'2012-01-23 15:12:16','2012-01-23 15:12:16','Have you ever been watching TV and seen a commercial that falls flat or that outright offends you? I bet you have. I have: the Go Daddy commercials from last year\'s Super Bowl, for example, were way offensive and sexist. So, how did they make it to such a massive audience? Why did they get made at all?\r\n\r\nI think the answer lies in some nuggets from this <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/black-women-in-america/?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey</a> of black women in America. If you read through the poll (especially the last few questions about sexism and racism compared to black men, white women and white men), you see that each group views the world differently. For instance, a number that is really indicative, is that 55% of white men think the world is fair to everyone, versus 34% of black women and 47% of white women. (In my opinion, the world is fairest to white men, so therefore they think the world is fair for everyone.)\r\n\r\nAnother telling statistic is that more black women (36%) think sexism is a big problem in society than white men (12%). Again, white men do not experience much sexism, so it does not affect them as a group, and they conclude it is not a big problem in society.\r\n\r\n<strong>Different people experience the world differently</strong>. Marketers need to be aware of this since we are often swayed by our own experience of the world. This is why certain white male politicians have no problems indicting a whole class of people for being lazy or for not believing in the American dream.\r\n\r\nSo the next time you see an ad that seems to be tone-deaf you will know that it was created by someone who doesn\'t understand that his/her experience is not reflective of the world as a whole.\r\n\r\nYour thoughts?\r\n\r\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC newsletter yet? It will take about 5 seconds to sign up right there on the upper right hand side of this page.</strong>','Why so many ads fail','','publish','open','open','','why-so-many-ads-fail','','','2012-01-23 15:12:16','2012-01-23 15:12:16','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1549',0,'post','',0),
(1550,4,'2012-01-23 15:11:40','2012-01-23 15:11:40','Have you ever been watching TV and seen a commercial that falls flat or that outright offends you? I bet you have. I have: the Go Daddy commercials from last year\'s Super Bowl, for example, were way offensive and sexist. So, how did they make it to such a massive audience? Why did they get made at all?\n\nI think the answer lies in some nuggets from this <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/black-women-in-america/?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey</a> of black women in America. If you read through the poll (especially the last few questions about sexism and racism compared to black men, white women and white men), you see that each group views the world differently. For instance, a number that is really indicative, is that 55% of white men think the world is fair to everyone, versus 34% of black women and 47% of white women. (In my opinion, the world is fairest to white men, so therefore they think the world is fair for everyone.)\n\nAnother telling statistic is that more black women (36%) think sexism is a big problem in society than white men (12%). Again, white men do not experience much sexism, so it does not affect them as a group, and they conclude it is not a big problem in society.\n\n<strong>Different people experience the world differently</strong>. Marketers need to be aware of this since we are often swayed by our own experience of the world. This is why certain white male politicians have no problems indicting a whole class of people for being lazy or for not believing in the American dream.\n\nSo the next time you see an ad that seems to be tone-deaf you will know that it was created by someone who doesn\'t understand that his/her experience is not reflective of the world as a whole.\n\nYour thoughts?\n\nHave you signed up for the DBMC newsletter yet? It will take about 5 seconds to sign up right there on the upper right hand side of this page.','Why so many ads fail','','inherit','open','open','','1549-revision','','','2012-01-23 15:11:40','2012-01-23 15:11:40','',1549,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1549-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1551,4,'2012-01-23 15:13:27','2012-01-23 15:13:27','Have you ever been watching TV and seen a commercial that falls flat or that outright offends you? I bet you have. I have: the Go Daddy commercials from last year\'s Super Bowl, for example, were way offensive and sexist. So, how did they make it to such a massive audience? Why did they get made at all?\n\nI think the answer lies in some nuggets from this <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/black-women-in-america/?hpid=z2\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey</a> of black women in America. If you read through the poll (especially the last few questions about sexism and racism compared to black men, white women and white men), you see that each group views the world differently. For instance, a number that is really indicative, is that 55% of white men think the world is fair to everyone, versus 34% of black women and 47% of white women. (In my opinion, the world is fairest to white men, so therefore they think the world is fair for everyone.)\n\nAnother telling statistic is that more black women (36%) think sexism is a big problem in society than white men (12%). Again, white men do not experience much sexism, so it does not affect them as a group, and they conclude it is not a big problem in society.\n\n<strong>Different people experience the world differently</strong>. Marketers need to be aware of this since we are often swayed by our own experience of the world. This is why certain white male politicians have no problems indicting a whole class of people for being lazy or for not believing in the American dream.\n\nSo the next time you see an ad that seems to be tone-deaf you will know that it was created by someone who doesn\'t understand that his/her experience is not reflective of the world as a whole.\n\nYour thoughts?\n\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC newsletter yet? It will take about 5 seconds to sign up right there on the upper right hand side of this page.</strong>','Why so many ads fail','','inherit','open','open','','1549-autosave','','','2012-01-23 15:13:27','2012-01-23 15:13:27','',1549,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1549-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1552,4,'2012-01-24 17:52:01','2012-01-24 17:52:01','Wishing people a happy birthday has become uber popular thanks to Facebook. The social network reminds you that it is your \"friend\'s\" birthday and makes super easy for you to post those two two words \"Happy Birthday\" on his/her wall. Oh yes, some people get more creative and wish you a great day, or to have fun.  Depending on the number of friends you have, you could get dozens, if not hundreds, of greetings.\r\n\r\nDoes this mean that birthdays are more important now than ever? Is Facebook tapping into the little girl/boy in everyone who just loves her/his birthday and the celebration of it?\r\n\r\nI think the birthday greeting phenomenon points to several things:\r\n\r\n<strong>Facebook has made it easy to connect without really connecting.</strong> Posting Happy Birthday on someone\'s wall is easy. Writing a card or an email or (gasp) picking up the phone and calling, now that takes some effort.\r\n\r\n<strong>Facebook is ruling our lives.</strong> If Facebook reminds us, then we remember somebody\'s birthday. If not, it is like it doesn\'t exist. Some people are living their lives on Facebook--using it to announce milestones (births, engagements, divorces), snub people, brag, proselytize, look for sympathy (oh...I am so sad says the status update).\r\n\r\n<strong>Facebook gives us a false sense of belonging.</strong> This is a corollary to my first point. We think that if 100 people wish us happy birthday it must mean something. I assure you, it means little to nothing.\r\n\r\n<strong>Facebook has made a decision to promote birthdays, and we are all blindly following.</strong> I don\'t see Facebook promoting anniversaries, or job promotions, do you? We have seen how Facebook arbitrarily decides what we should care about--witness the new time line or the highlighted stories in the news feed--and we are powerless to change it.\r\n\r\nLet me be clear--I am not against birthdays. Heck, there are fewer things I enjoy more than birthday cake (sheet cake, preferably chocolate, with some vanilla frosting...yuml). I am just against the new world Facebook is creating for us and the sheeplike way we are all following it.\r\n\r\nIf you aren\'t on Facebook, does it mean you don\'t have a birthday?\r\n\r\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC quarterly enewsletter? First issue of 2012 is coming up in February.  Enter your name and email address on the upper right-hand side of this page.</strong>','\'Cause it\'s your birthday','','publish','open','open','','cause-its-your-birthday','','','2012-01-24 17:52:01','2012-01-24 17:52:01','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1552',0,'post','',0),
(1553,4,'2012-01-24 17:51:47','2012-01-24 17:51:47','Wishing people a happy birthday has become uber popular thanks to Facebook. The social network reminds you that it is your \"friend\'s\" birthday and makes super easy for you to post those two two words \"Happy Birthday\" on his/her wall. Oh yes, some people get more creative and wish you a great day, or to have fun.  Depending on the number of friends you have, you could get dozens, if not hundreds, of greetings.\n\nDoes this mean that birthdays are more important now than ever? Is Facebook tapping into the little girl/boy in everyone who just loves her/his birthday and the celebration of it?\n\nI think the birthday greeting phenomenon points to several things:\n\n<strong>Facebook has made it easy to connect without really connecting.</strong> Posting Happy Birthday on someone\'s wall is easy. Writing a card or an email or (gasp) picking up the phone and calling, now that takes some effort.\n\n<strong>Facebook is ruling our lives.</strong> If Facebook reminds us, then we remember somebody\'s birthday. If not, it is like it doesn\'t exist. Some people are living their lives on Facebook--using it to announce milestones (births, engagements, divorces), snub people, brag, proselytize, look for sympathy (oh...I am so sad says the status update).\n\n<strong>Facebook gives us a false sense of belonging.</strong> This is a corollary to my first point. We think that if 100 people wish us happy birthday it must mean something. I assure you, it means little to nothing.\n\n<strong>Facebook has made a decision to promote birthdays, and we are all blindly following.</strong> I don\'t see Facebook promoting anniversaries, or job promotions, do you? We have seen how Facebook arbitrarily decides what we should care about--witness the new time line or the highlighted stories in the news feed--and we are powerless to change it.\n\nLet me be clear--I am not against birthdays. Heck, there are fewer things I enjoy more than birthday cake (sheet cake, preferably chocolate, with some vanilla frosting...yuml). I am just against the new world Facebook is creating for us and the sheeplike way we are all following it.\n\nIf you aren\'t on Facebook, does it mean you don\'t have a birthday?\n\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC quarterly enewsletter? First issue of 2012 is coming up in February.  Enter your name and email address on the upper right-hand side of this page.</strong>','\'Cause it\'s your birthday','','inherit','open','open','','1552-revision','','','2012-01-24 17:51:47','2012-01-24 17:51:47','',1552,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1552-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1555,4,'2012-01-31 15:02:34','2012-01-31 15:02:34','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\n\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\nAnd then this:\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\n\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\n\nRick Santorum (and when they were stiPerry and Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\n\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an other (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other called him a socialist and other choice descriptors).\n\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\n\nIn marketing, we do believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that message should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?\n\n&nbsp;','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','inherit','open','open','','1554-revision','','','2012-01-31 15:02:34','2012-01-31 15:02:34','',1554,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1554-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1556,4,'2012-01-31 17:38:42','2012-01-31 17:38:42','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\n\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\nAnd then this:\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\n\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\n\nRick Santorum (and when they were still in the race, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\n\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an \"other\" (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other candidates have called him everything from a socialist to other negative descriptors).\n\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\n\nIn marketing, we believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that messages should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?\n\n<strong>ADDENDUM</strong>: Just came across this piece on CNN.com: <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/opinion/navarrette-immigration-gop/index.html?hpt=hp_t1\" target=\"_blank\">Latinos won\'t forget Romney\'s anti-immigrant talk</a>. Author Ruben Navarrette says this:\n<blockquote>the dishonest and cynical way in which the former governor of Massachusetts has dealt with the immigration issue on the campaign trail shows that he has a problem being consistent.</blockquote>\nNavarrette goes on to discuss how Romney held a strong line against amnesty, but now has softened his approach to PANDER to the Latino vote.\n<blockquote>Now as he competes this week for Hispanic votes in Florida -- and, on Feb 4, in Nevada, where Latinos account for 26.5 percent of the population -- Romney must be hoping that Latinos have bad memories.\n\nWe don\'t. We never forget a slight. And, in that respect, Romney has given us plenty to remember.</blockquote>','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','inherit','open','open','','1554-autosave','','','2012-01-31 17:38:42','2012-01-31 17:38:42','',1554,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1554-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1557,4,'2012-01-31 15:03:08','2012-01-31 15:03:08','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\r\n\r\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\r\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\r\nAnd then this:\r\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\r\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\r\n\r\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\r\n\r\nRick Santorum (and when they were still in the race, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\r\n\r\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an other (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other called him a socialist and other choice descriptors).\r\n\r\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\r\n\r\nIn marketing, we do believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that message should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','inherit','open','open','','1554-revision-2','','','2012-01-31 15:03:08','2012-01-31 15:03:08','',1554,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1554-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1558,4,'2012-01-31 15:05:32','2012-01-31 15:05:32','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\r\n\r\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\r\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\r\nAnd then this:\r\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\r\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\r\n\r\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\r\n\r\nRick Santorum (and when they were still in the race, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\r\n\r\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an other (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other called him a socialist and other choice descriptors).\r\n\r\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\r\n\r\nIn marketing, we believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that messages should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','inherit','open','open','','1554-revision-3','','','2012-01-31 15:05:32','2012-01-31 15:05:32','',1554,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1554-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1559,4,'2012-01-31 15:24:41','2012-01-31 15:24:41','Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (t<a href=\"http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandering\" target=\"_blank\">o act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example</a>) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge.\r\n\r\nPoliticians seem to be always pandering, saying things they think cater to the audience they are speaking to or trying to appeal to. We saw this a week ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and he most decidedly pandered to the people who think they are on the short end of the wealth stick in this country. Here\'s an excerpt:\r\n<blockquote>We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.</blockquote>\r\nAnd then this:\r\n<blockquote>So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.</blockquote>\r\nTo me it\'s clear Obama thinks he needs these people to vote for him in November.\r\n\r\nThen there is Newt Gingrich pandering to the Jewish vote in Florida by <a href=\"http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-slams-romney-on-kosher-food-112783.html\" target=\"_blank\">saying that Romney voted to eliminate serving kosher food to elderly people under Medicaid. </a>\r\n\r\nRick Santorum (and when they were still in the race, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann) panders to the homophobic vote (although he probably calls it the family values vote) by opposing same-sex marriage.\r\n\r\nWe have seen all GOP candidates this year pander to the racist vote by emphasizing that Obama is an other (Gingrich called him a \"food stamp president\" and the other called him a socialist and other choice descriptors).\r\n\r\nIn short, politicians will say anything to get a vote. The problem with pandering is that it assumes the audience can\'t see it is being pandered to. And then there is the fact that different audiences might have conflicting needs from one another and the candidate that panders to one might necessarily offend another or end up contradicting him/herself.\r\n<blockquote>In marketing, we believe in tailoring a message to the target audience. However, we also believe that messages should be clear and CONSISTENT.  If a business employed a shifting message strategy, it would quickly lose customers. Why do we tolerate this shift from politicians?</blockquote>\r\nADDENDUM: Just came across this piece on CNN.com: <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/opinion/navarrette-immigration-gop/index.html?hpt=hp_t1\" target=\"_blank\">Latinos won\'t forget Romney\'s anti-immigrant talk</a>. Author Ruben Navarrette says this:\r\n<blockquote>the dishonest and cynical way in which the former governor of Massachusetts has dealt with the immigration issue on the campaign trail shows that he has a problem being consistent.</blockquote>\r\nNavarrette goes on to discuss how Romney held a strong line against amnesty, but now has softened his approach to PANDER to the Latino vote.\r\n<blockquote>Now as he competes this week for Hispanic votes in Florida -- and, on Feb 4, in Nevada, where Latinos account for 26.5 percent of the population -- Romney must be hoping that Latinos have bad memories.\r\n\r\nWe don\'t. We never forget a slight. And, in that respect, Romney has given us plenty to remember.</blockquote>','Politicians, pandering and the shifting message','','inherit','open','open','','1554-revision-4','','','2012-01-31 15:24:41','2012-01-31 15:24:41','',1554,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/01/1554-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),
(1561,4,'2012-02-01 15:44:28','2012-02-01 15:44:28','Perhaps you spent lots of money and lots of time creating your website. You hired experts to design it and build it. And yet, you are not seeing the results you want. Why? It could be many things, or just one thing, but here are several failures I have found:\r\n\r\n<strong>No contact information or not enough contact information.</strong> I just visited a website this week in which the contact us is strictly the customer service line. If you want to reach the actual corporate offices (you know, to speak to accounting, HR, marketing), you are out of luck.\r\n\r\n<strong>Omission of important information/details.</strong> This week I visited the website for an upcoming PR event. Guess what information was not available ANYWHERE: the actual location of the event.\r\n\r\n<strong>Too much information on the home page.</strong> Some websites have a very information heavy home page to the point that it is headache inducing.\r\n\r\n<strong>An about page that doesn\'t say anything.</strong>  The about page is your chance to explain who you are. Why use circular language and jargon that says nothing about you?\r\n\r\n<strong>An ugly, dated design</strong>. Makes you look out of touch or cheap or both.\r\n\r\n<strong>You have music.</strong> Enough said.\r\n\r\nReaders, what have you run across that makes a website fail?','Is your website a communications failure?','','publish','open','open','','is-your-website-a-communications-failure','','','2012-02-01 15:44:28','2012-02-01 15:44:28','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1561',0,'post','',0),
(1562,4,'2012-02-01 15:43:42','2012-02-01 15:43:42','Perhaps you spent lots of money and lots of time creating your website. You hired experts to design it and build it. And yet, you are not seeing the results you want. Why? It could be many things, or just one thing, but here are several failures I have found:\n\n<strong>No contact information or not enough contact information.</strong> I just visited a website this week in which the contact us is strictly the customer service line. If you want to reach the actual corporate offices (you know, to speak to accounting, HR, marketing), you are out of luck.\n\n<strong>Omission of important information/details.</strong> This week I visited the website for an upcoming PR event. Guess what information was not available ANYWHERE: the actual location of the event.\n\n<strong>Too much information on the home page.</strong> Some websites have a very information heavy home page to the point that it is headache inducing.\n\n<strong>An about page that doesn\'t say anything.</strong>  The about page is your chance to explain who you are. Why use circular language and jargon that says nothing about you?\n\n<strong>An ugly, dated design</strong>. Makes you look out of touch or cheap or both.\n\n<strong>You have music.</strong> Enough said.\n\nReaders, what have you run across that makes a website fail?','Is your website a communications failure?','','inherit','open','open','','1561-revision','','','2012-02-01 15:43:42','2012-02-01 15:43:42','',1561,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1561-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1564,4,'2012-02-02 16:43:04','2012-02-02 16:43:04','Personality matters in marketing, especially if you are marketing yourself. Personality affects the tone of your marketing efforts, and in the case of ego, what you highlight and what you don\'t.\r\n\r\nSince personality and ego are well, personal, we often don\'t discuss them as part of our communications strategy. But we should. Having a bad attitude or an insufferably big ego can and will derail marketing and communications efforts.\r\n\r\nWhat do I mean? Perhaps by now you have heard of the fracas that has ensued from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to defund Planned Parenthood. I am not going to discuss the politics of it, but I will discuss the communications aspect of it. Komen did not handle communications well at all. Planned Parenthood actually took the news and made it into a fundraising point, while Komen was silent. Not even answering calls from the news media (they provided no comment to CBS Evening News for example). Komen has also been deleting negative comments from its Facebook page.\r\n\r\nIt seems as though Komen did not anticipate or prepare for the backlash of this decision, and therefore has allowed its critics to transform the message (Komen is playing politics with women\'s lives). Why? <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In my opinion, Komen is a victim of big ego.</span> Komen seems to believe that because it is such a large, and up to now, well respected, organization, that its donors will support whatever it does. But Komen miscalculated.  Komen allowed ego to get in the way of having a smart communications strategy that would explain its decision, defend it and keep supporters happy.\r\n\r\n<strong>It is important to remember that companies and organizations are run by individuals, who have attitudes and personalities that influence how they act.</strong>\r\n\r\nOn an individual level, attitude is even more important when marketing. Last week, I attended an alumni event for my graduate school institution. As I was sitting and eating my appetizers, I saw a guy whom I recognized as an alum of my undergraduate institution.\r\n\r\nMe: \"Didn\'t you go to [name of school]?\r\n\r\nHim: \"Yes.\"\r\n\r\nMe: \"I thought I recognized you.\"\r\n\r\nHim: [no comment]\r\n\r\nThen I noticed that the other woman at the table had graduated from law school the same year as this guy (both had name tags with the name of the school and grad year). I pointed it out to both of them. She immediately tried to figure out if there was any connection. He didn\'t. As we continued this increasingly painful exchange, I asked him what law firm he works for. It turns out he is looking for a job in government and is doing tax preparation in the meantime.\r\n\r\nIf he had a better attitude, perhaps I would try to see if I know of any resources for him. But instead this man has a tremendously bad attitude, left a bad impression and apparently does not understand what networking is and what it can do for you.\r\n\r\nYour attitude matters because it determines how people react to you. If you have ever worked at a large organization with people at its helm that have big egos and/or bad attitudes, you know this impacts how the organization communicates and markets itself.  It could be that the CEO/President is a narcissist and thinks that all press releases should quote him/her. It could be that the VP of Communications shuts down any creative idea if it differs from his/her own. And so forth.\r\n\r\nNext time you have a marketing/communications failure, check to see if attitude, personality or ego had anything to do with it.\r\n\r\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC newsletter yet? First edition of the year is coming out next week. Sign up box is on the upper right hand side of this page.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','When ego and attitude derail your marketing efforts','','publish','open','open','','when-ego-and-attitude-derail-your-marketing-efforts','','','2012-02-02 16:43:04','2012-02-02 16:43:04','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1564',0,'post','',1),
(1565,4,'2012-02-02 16:42:57','2012-02-02 16:42:57','Personality matters in marketing, especially if you are marketing yourself. Personality affects the tone of your marketing efforts, and in the case of ego, what you highlight and what you don\'t.\n\nSince personality and ego are well, personal, we often don\'t discuss them as part of our communications strategy. But we should. Having a bad attitude or an insufferably big ego can and will derail marketing and communications efforts.\n\nWhat do I mean? Perhaps by now you have heard of the fracas that has ensued from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to defund Planned Parenthood. I am not going to discuss the politics of it, but I will discuss the communications aspect of it. Komen did not handle communications well at all. Planned Parenthood actually took the news and made it into a fundraising point, while Komen was silent. Not even answering calls from the news media (they provided no comment to CBS Evening News for example). Komen has also been deleting negative comments from its Facebook page.\n\nIt seems as though Komen did not anticipate or prepare for the backlash of this decision, and therefore has allowed its critics to transform the message (Komen is playing politics with women\'s lives). Why? <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In my opinion, Komen is a victim of big ego.</span> Komen seems to believe that because it is such a large, and up to now, well respected, organization, that its donors will support whatever it does. But Komen miscalculated.  Komen allowed ego to get in the way of having a smart communications strategy that would explain its decision, defend it and keep supporters happy.\n\n<strong>It is important to remember that companies and organizations are run by individuals, who have attitudes and personalities that influence how they act.</strong>\n\nOn an individual level, attitude is even more important when marketing. Last week, I attended an alumni event for my graduate school institution. As I was sitting and eating my appetizers, I saw a guy whom I recognized as an alum of my undergraduate institution.\n\nMe: \"Didn\'t you go to [name of school]?\n\nHim: \"Yes.\"\n\nMe: \"I thought I recognized you.\"\n\nHim: [no comment]\n\nThen I noticed that the other woman at the table had graduated from law school the same year as this guy (both had name tags with the name of the school and grad year). I pointed it out to both of them. She immediately tried to figure out if there was any connection. He didn\'t. As we continued this increasingly painful exchange, I asked him what law firm he works for. It turns out he is looking for a job in government and is doing tax preparation in the meantime.\n\nIf he had a better attitude, perhaps I would try to see if I know of any resources for him. But instead this man has a tremendously bad attitude, left a bad impression and apparently does not understand what networking is and what it can do for you.\n\nYour attitude matters because it determines how people react to you. If you have ever worked at a large organization with people at its helm that have big egos and/or bad attitudes, you know this impacts how the organization communicates and markets itself.  It could be that the CEO/President is a narcissist and thinks that all press releases should quote him/her. It could be that the VP of Communications shuts down any creative idea if it differs from his/her own. And so forth.\n\nNext time you have a marketing/communications failure, check to see if attitude, personality or ego had anything to do with it.\n\n<strong>Have you signed up for the DBMC newsletter yet? First edition of the year is coming out next week. Sign up box is on the upper right hand side of this page.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;','When ego and attitude derail your marketing efforts','','inherit','open','open','','1564-revision','','','2012-02-02 16:42:57','2012-02-02 16:42:57','',1564,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1564-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1573,4,'2012-02-10 20:41:06','2012-02-10 20:41:06','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In an <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/romneys-campaign-has-a-theme-personal-ambition/2012/02/09/gIQAPihW2Q_story.html?hpid=z3\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">op-ed piece in today\'s Washington Post</span></a>, Eugene Robinson argues that Mitt Romney, erstwhile front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, lacks a message. Robinson writes:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Criticism of Mitt Romney for lacking a coherent message is grossly unfair. He has been forthright, consistent and even eloquent in pressing home his campaign’s central theme: Mitt Romney <em>desperately</em> wants to be president.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He goes on to say, that in spite having many differences of opinion with the Obama administration, Romney hasn\'t articulated an overall message. Robinson expresses it like this:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My point is that even Romney’s sharp disagreements with Obama’s policies don’t add up to a philosophy or a vision. They’re more like what stuck after a bunch of random tough-sounding positions were thrown at the wall.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What are you fighting for?</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is not enough to be <em>against</em> something. You have to be <em>for</em> something. You have to stand for something that makes it clear who you are and what you will do. This is true for all politicians, nonprofits and even businesses. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Imagine if Coke were just the anti-Pepsi. That would not be enough. Instead, \"Coke is it,\" Coke is the \"real thing,\" Coke likes polar bears. You get my drift.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Having a positive (in that it not an \"against\" message) central unifying message cannot be underestimated. In fact, if the GOP loses in November it will be because the party has failed to articulate something other than they are against Obama. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romney, and any other politician, would do well to take a step back and figure out what it is he wants to say, really. In his case, he needs to articulate better why his position (and the GOP\'s) is better for the economy, in positive terms. What exactly does Romney think the problem is, and more importantly, what is the solution.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','First, have a message','','publish','open','open','','first-have-a-message','','','2012-02-10 20:41:06','2012-02-10 20:41:06','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1573',0,'post','',0),
(1575,4,'2012-02-13 16:09:23','0000-00-00 00:00:00','There are some real forehead slappers out there!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Most egregious communications mistakes','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-02-13 16:09:23','2012-02-13 16:09:23','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1575',0,'post','',0),
(1568,4,'2012-02-03 15:45:28','2012-02-03 15:45:28','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the tremendous amount of negative press, critical comments and social media outrage regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood,we may be able to conclude that there is a rather large disconnect between the foundation\'s leadership/decision makers and its donor/support base. In fact, the decision has been received so poorly that it points to a top down decision-making approach that seems wholly ignorant of what supporters want.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an axiom of marketing (and of fund-raising) that you should understand and know your target audience.</strong> How can you market (or raise funds from) people you don\'t know? This is why marketers often use focus groups, surveys and other methods to determine just who makes up the customer/client/donor base.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years. I am not sure if I ever got a survey from Komen. I did get tons of emails selling me Komen merchandise, which is why I unsubscribed and stopped supporting the organization.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course hindsight is always 20/20 but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I believe that if Komen had done more to understand who supports the foundation and why, it may have avoided taking this decision and the huge firestorm of bad publicity that has followed. </span> Perhaps every time someone gives a donation or signs up for a race, Komen (or any other nonprofit), could send out a quick survey. In Komen\'s specific case it could have been as simple as a question asking:</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Which of our programs do you feel has the most value?  (along with a checklist).</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps if Komen had been aware that many people think Planned Parenthood provides good services, it would not have been so quick to pull funding and so ignorant about the potential outcry.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are multiple lessons to be learned from  the Komen debacle (PR and crisis communications matter, for one), none the least of is: <strong>KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE</strong> (customers, clients, donors, supporters)... and remember you work for them, and not the other way around.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Have you signed up to get my enewsletter? All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the upper right hand side of this page. Your name/email will not be shared.</strong></span>','Did Komen know much about its supporters?','','publish','open','open','','did-komen-know-much-about-its-supporters','','','2012-02-03 15:50:27','2012-02-03 15:50:27','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1568',0,'post','',0),
(1569,4,'2012-02-03 15:44:49','2012-02-03 15:44:49','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the negative press, critical comments,  and social media outrage regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, there seems to be a disconnect between the foundation\'s leadership/decision makers and its donor/support base. In fact, the decision has been received so poorly that it points to a top down decision-making approach that seems wholly ignorant of what supporters want.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an axiom of marketing (and of fund-raising) that you should understand and know your target audience.</strong> How can you market (or raise funds from) people you don\'t know? This is why marketers often use focus groups, surveys and other methods to determine just who makes up the customer/client/donor base.</span>\n\nI participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years. I am not sure if I ever got a survey from Komen. I did get tons of emails selling me Komen merchandise, which is why I unsubscribed and stopped supporting the organization.\n\nOf course hindsight is always 20/20 but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I believe that if Komen had done more to understand who supports the foundation and why, it may have avoided taking this decision and the huge firestorm of bad publicity that has followed. </span> Perhaps every time someone gives a donation or signs up for a race, Komen (or any other nonprofit), could send out a quick survey. In Komen\'s specific case it could have been as simple as a question asking:\n\nWhich of our programs do you feel has the most value?  (along with a checklist).\n\nPerhaps if Komen had been aware that many people think Planned Parenthood provides good services, it would not have been so quick to pull funding and so ignorant about the potential outcry.\n\nThere are multiple lessons to be learned from  the Komen debacle (PR and crisis communications matter, for one), none the least of is: <strong>KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE</strong> (customers, clients, donors, supporters)... and remember you work for them, and not the other way around.\n\n<strong>Have you signed up to get my enewsletter? All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the upper right hand side of this page. Your name/email will not be shared.</strong>','Did Komen know much about its supporters?','','inherit','open','open','','1568-revision','','','2012-02-03 15:44:49','2012-02-03 15:44:49','',1568,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1568-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1570,4,'2012-02-03 15:49:32','2012-02-03 15:49:32','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the tremendous amount of negative press, critical comments and social media outrage regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood,we may be able to conclude that there is a rather large disconnect between the foundation\'s leadership/decision makers and its donor/support base. In fact, the decision has been received so poorly that it points to a top down decision-making approach that seems wholly ignorant of what supporters want.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an axiom of marketing (and of fund-raising) that you should understand and know your target audience.</strong> How can you market (or raise funds from) people you don\'t know? This is why marketers often use focus groups, surveys and other methods to determine just who makes up the customer/client/donor base.</span>\n\nI participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years. I am not sure if I ever got a survey from Komen. I did get tons of emails selling me Komen merchandise, which is why I unsubscribed and stopped supporting the organization.\n\nOf course hindsight is always 20/20 but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I believe that if Komen had done more to understand who supports the foundation and why, it may have avoided taking this decision and the huge firestorm of bad publicity that has followed. </span> Perhaps every time someone gives a donation or signs up for a race, Komen (or any other nonprofit), could send out a quick survey. In Komen\'s specific case it could have been as simple as a question asking:\n\nWhich of our programs do you feel has the most value?  (along with a checklist).\n\nPerhaps if Komen had been aware that many people think Planned Parenthood provides good services, it would not have been so quick to pull funding and so ignorant about the potential outcry.\n\nThere are multiple lessons to be learned from  the Komen debacle (PR and crisis communications matter, for one), none the least of is: <strong>KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE</strong> (customers, clients, donors, supporters)... and remember you work for them, and not the other way around.\n\n<strong>Have you signed up to get my enewsletter? All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the upper right hand side of this page. Your name/email will not be shared.</strong>','Did Komen know much about its supporters?','','inherit','open','open','','1568-autosave','','','2012-02-03 15:49:32','2012-02-03 15:49:32','',1568,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1568-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1571,4,'2012-02-03 15:45:28','2012-02-03 15:45:28','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the negative press, critical comments,  and social media outrage regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, there seems to be a disconnect between the foundation\'s leadership/decision makers and its donor/support base. In fact, the decision has been received so poorly that it points to a top down decision-making approach that seems wholly ignorant of what supporters want.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an axiom of marketing (and of fund-raising) that you should understand and know your target audience.</strong> How can you market (or raise funds from) people you don\'t know? This is why marketers often use focus groups, surveys and other methods to determine just who makes up the customer/client/donor base.</span>\r\n\r\nI participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years. I am not sure if I ever got a survey from Komen. I did get tons of emails selling me Komen merchandise, which is why I unsubscribed and stopped supporting the organization.\r\n\r\nOf course hindsight is always 20/20 but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I believe that if Komen had done more to understand who supports the foundation and why, it may have avoided taking this decision and the huge firestorm of bad publicity that has followed. </span> Perhaps every time someone gives a donation or signs up for a race, Komen (or any other nonprofit), could send out a quick survey. In Komen\'s specific case it could have been as simple as a question asking:\r\n\r\nWhich of our programs do you feel has the most value?  (along with a checklist).\r\n\r\nPerhaps if Komen had been aware that many people think Planned Parenthood provides good services, it would not have been so quick to pull funding and so ignorant about the potential outcry.\r\n\r\nThere are multiple lessons to be learned from  the Komen debacle (PR and crisis communications matter, for one), none the least of is: <strong>KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE</strong> (customers, clients, donors, supporters)... and remember you work for them, and not the other way around.\r\n\r\n<strong>Have you signed up to get my enewsletter? All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the upper right hand side of this page. Your name/email will not be shared.</strong>','Did Komen know much about its supporters?','','inherit','open','open','','1568-revision-2','','','2012-02-03 15:45:28','2012-02-03 15:45:28','',1568,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1568-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1572,4,'2012-02-03 15:47:34','2012-02-03 15:47:34','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the tremendous amount of negative press, critical comments and social media outrage regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation\'s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood,we may be able to conclude that there is a rather large disconnect between the foundation\'s leadership/decision makers and its donor/support base. In fact, the decision has been received so poorly that it points to a top down decision-making approach that seems wholly ignorant of what supporters want.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an axiom of marketing (and of fund-raising) that you should understand and know your target audience.</strong> How can you market (or raise funds from) people you don\'t know? This is why marketers often use focus groups, surveys and other methods to determine just who makes up the customer/client/donor base.</span>\r\n\r\nI participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years. I am not sure if I ever got a survey from Komen. I did get tons of emails selling me Komen merchandise, which is why I unsubscribed and stopped supporting the organization.\r\n\r\nOf course hindsight is always 20/20 but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I believe that if Komen had done more to understand who supports the foundation and why, it may have avoided taking this decision and the huge firestorm of bad publicity that has followed. </span> Perhaps every time someone gives a donation or signs up for a race, Komen (or any other nonprofit), could send out a quick survey. In Komen\'s specific case it could have been as simple as a question asking:\r\n\r\nWhich of our programs do you feel has the most value?  (along with a checklist).\r\n\r\nPerhaps if Komen had been aware that many people think Planned Parenthood provides good services, it would not have been so quick to pull funding and so ignorant about the potential outcry.\r\n\r\nThere are multiple lessons to be learned from  the Komen debacle (PR and crisis communications matter, for one), none the least of is: <strong>KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE</strong> (customers, clients, donors, supporters)... and remember you work for them, and not the other way around.\r\n\r\n<strong>Have you signed up to get my enewsletter? All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the upper right hand side of this page. Your name/email will not be shared.</strong>','Did Komen know much about its supporters?','','inherit','open','open','','1568-revision-3','','','2012-02-03 15:47:34','2012-02-03 15:47:34','',1568,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1568-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1574,4,'2012-02-10 20:41:02','2012-02-10 20:41:02','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In an <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/romneys-campaign-has-a-theme-personal-ambition/2012/02/09/gIQAPihW2Q_story.html?hpid=z3\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">op-ed piece in today\'s Washington Post</span></a>, Eugene Robinson argues that Mitt Romney, erstwhile front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, lacks a message. Robinson writes:</span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Criticism of Mitt Romney for lacking a coherent message is grossly unfair. He has been forthright, consistent and even eloquent in pressing home his campaign’s central theme: Mitt Romney <em>desperately</em> wants to be president.</span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He goes on to say, that in spite having many differences of opinion with the Obama administration, Romney hasn\'t articulated an overall message. Robinson expresses it like this:</span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My point is that even Romney’s sharp disagreements with Obama’s policies don’t add up to a philosophy or a vision. They’re more like what stuck after a bunch of random tough-sounding positions were thrown at the wall.</span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What are you fighting for?</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is not enough to be <em>against</em> something. You have to be <em>for</em> something. You have to stand for something that makes it clear who you are and what you will do. This is true for all politicians, nonprofits and even businesses. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Imagine if Coke were just the anti-Pepsi. That would not be enough. Instead, \"Coke is it,\" Coke is the \"real thing,\" Coke likes polar bears. You get my drift.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Having a positive (in that it not an \"against\" message) central unifying message cannot be underestimated. In fact, if the GOP loses in November it will be because the party has failed to articulate something other than they are against Obama. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romney, and any other politician, would do well to take a step back and figure out what it is he wants to say, really. In his case, he needs to articulate better why his position (and the GOP\'s) is better for the economy, in positive terms. What exactly does Romney think the problem is, and more importantly, what is the solution.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','First, have a message','','inherit','open','open','','1573-revision','','','2012-02-10 20:41:02','2012-02-10 20:41:02','',1573,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1573-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1642,4,'2012-03-23 12:41:01','2012-03-23 12:41:01','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is a physics term, which means that speed or forward motion of an object is equal to mass times velocity. In everyday usage, momentum is the strength or speed gained by motion or a series of events (<a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/momentum\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">here is Merriam-Webster\'s</span></a> definition).</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is good for marketing--it helps you build up steam and propels you forward (gets you new business, more readers, bigger audience, etc).  But if when things are starting to speed up,  you apply the brakes, you (like your car) will quite literally slow down (lose momentum). </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Losing momentum is a marketing killer.</strong> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">How do you lose momentum? There are many \"brakes.\" Here are few examples:</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not returning inquiry calls:</strong> If I call you for information, I am what they call a warm prospect. By not calling me back, you are losing me. By taking your sweet time to return said calls, you also lose momentum.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not following up</strong>:  In mid-December I attended the inaugural event for a new DC networking group. It sounded good and I provided my email, saying I would be happy to help organize an event. I haven\'t heard ONE word from them. They haven\'t held another event. They lost momentum.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Changing your terms suddenly (dashing expectations):</strong> Say you always get bread served at your favorite restaurant, and suddenly, the restaurant decides to cut costs and there goes the bread basket. It may have been what you enjoyed about the place, and now your expectations are dashed. You may not return.</span>\r\n\r\n<strong>Not blogging (or Tweeting or posting on Facebook) for months:</strong> You started your blog, and you had lots to say. And then you stopped posting. Any readership (or followers) you had, will dwindle. You lost momentum.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Whenever you do something that slows down your interaction with a prospective customer or client, you are losing momentum. That is a marketing/communications failure.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you experienced lost marketing momentum? Please give me your examples in the comments.</span>','Weekly communications #fail: losing momentum','','publish','open','open','','weekly-communications-fail-losing-momentum','','','2012-03-23 12:41:01','2012-03-23 12:41:01','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1642',0,'post','',2),
(1595,4,'2012-02-27 16:18:28','2012-02-27 16:18:28','Last night, I watched part of the Academy Awards (or Oscars to most everyone on the planet). I did not watch it all. And what I did watch, I didn\'t enjoy.\r\n\r\nIt seems quite ironic that the night meant to celebrating the best in film ENTERTAINMENT, is so un-entertaining.  The jokes were not funny, the audio was off (some weird feedback on the microphones), the show was too long. Some speakers were cut off, and Billy Crystal, the host, seemed caught in some time warp.\r\n\r\nPerhaps it is because Hollywood is out of touch (seriously, how many people in this economy could even afford a designer gown?). Or perhaps it is because the Academy is completely not representative of the population (it is mostly male, mostly white, mostly old, as the <a href=\"http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory\" target=\"_blank\">LA Times reported</a>).\r\n\r\nWith each passing year it seems that the red carpet pre-show, where the attendees show off what they are wearing, becomes what more people want to watch than the actual awards.\r\n\r\nSo, did YOU watch the Oscars? If so, what did you think?','Did you watch the Oscars?','','publish','open','open','','did-you-watch-the-oscars','','','2012-02-27 16:18:28','2012-02-27 16:18:28','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1595',0,'post','',1),
(1579,4,'2012-02-17 14:19:30','2012-02-17 14:19:30','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day I see something in the communications world that either irks me, peeves me or just plain amazes me, and not in a good way.  There\'s so much that I am making it a weekly rant on the blog.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week\'s communication fail has to do with sharing... social sharing that is...and how hard it can be to do. </span>\r\n\r\n<strong>The communications failure for February 17th: Sharing done wrong.</strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here\'s what I have encountered this week:</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>No sharing buttons whatsoever on a blog or major news site</strong>. (In fact, I found no sharing buttons on a post about how to communicate effectively, I am not kidding.) This needs to stop. If you have a blog, you have to include the ability to share. </span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sharing buttons that share the name of the blog but not the name of the post</strong>. Why would I share something called say, Deb\'s blog and a URL and expect people to read it? If it said something like \"Why sharing buttons are crucial\" on Deb\'s blog, then yes.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sharing buttons that share the name of the post but not of the author</strong>. It\'s about giving credit where credit is due. There are so many sharing buttons out there, it\'s hard to find the right one. </span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are a blogger, do yourself a favor: check your sharing buttons right now. </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The weekly communications #fail','','publish','open','open','','the-weekly-communications-fail','','','2012-02-17 14:21:45','2012-02-17 14:21:45','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1579',0,'post','',0),
(1580,4,'2012-02-17 14:17:30','2012-02-17 14:17:30','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day I see something in the communications world that either irks me, peeves me or just plain amazes me, and not in a good way.  There\'s so much that I am making it a weekly rant on the blog.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week\'s communication fail has to do with sharing... social sharing that is...and how hard it can be to do. </span>\n\n<strong>The communications failure for February 17th: Sharing done wrong.</strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here\'s what I have encountered this week:</span>\n<ul>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No sharing buttons whatsoever on a blog or major news site. (In fact, I found no sharing buttons on a post about how to communicate effectively, I am not kidding.) This needs to stop. If you have a blog, you have to include the ability to share. </span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the blog but not the name of the post. Why would I share something called say, Deb\'s blog and a URL and expect people to read it? If it said something like \"Why sharing buttons are crucial\" on Deb\'s blog, then yes.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the post but not of the author. It\'s about giving credit where credit is due. There are so many sharing buttons out there, it\'s hard to find the right one. </span></li>\n</ul>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are a blogger, do yourself a favor: check your sharing buttons right now.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','The weekly communications #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1579-revision','','','2012-02-17 14:17:30','2012-02-17 14:17:30','',1579,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1579-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1581,4,'2012-02-17 14:19:02','2012-02-17 14:19:02','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day I see something in the communications world that either irks me, peeves me or just plain amazes me, and not in a good way.  There\'s so much that I am making it a weekly rant on the blog.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week\'s communication fail has to do with sharing... social sharing that is...and how hard it can be to do. </span>\n\n<strong>The communications failure for February 17th: Sharing done wrong.</strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here\'s what I have encountered this week:</span>\n<ul>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No sharing buttons whatsoever on a blog or major news site. (In fact, I found no sharing buttons on a post about how to communicate effectively, I am not kidding.) This needs to stop. If you have a blog, you have to include the ability to share. </span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the blog but not the name of the post. Why would I share something called say, Deb\'s blog and a URL and expect people to read it? If it said something like \"Why sharing buttons are crucial\" on Deb\'s blog, then yes.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the post but not of the author. It\'s about giving credit where credit is due. There are so many sharing buttons out there, it\'s hard to find the right one. </span></li>\n</ul>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are a blogger, do yourself a favor: check your sharing buttons right now. </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','The weekly communications #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1579-revision-2','','','2012-02-17 14:19:02','2012-02-17 14:19:02','',1579,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1579-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1582,4,'2012-02-17 14:19:30','2012-02-17 14:19:30','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day I see something in the communications world that either irks me, peeves me or just plain amazes me, and not in a good way.  There\'s so much that I am making it a weekly rant on the blog.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week\'s communication fail has to do with sharing... social sharing that is...and how hard it can be to do. </span>\r\n\r\n<strong>The communications failure for February 17th: Sharing done wrong.</strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here\'s what I have encountered this week:</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No sharing buttons whatsoever on a blog or major news site. (In fact, I found no sharing buttons on a post about how to communicate effectively, I am not kidding.) This needs to stop. If you have a blog, you have to include the ability to share. </span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the blog but not the name of the post. Why would I share something called say, Deb\'s blog and a URL and expect people to read it? If it said something like \"Why sharing buttons are crucial\" on Deb\'s blog, then yes.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sharing buttons that share the name of the post but not of the author. It\'s about giving credit where credit is due. There are so many sharing buttons out there, it\'s hard to find the right one. </span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are a blogger, do yourself a favor: check your sharing buttons right now. </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The weekly communications #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1579-revision-3','','','2012-02-17 14:19:30','2012-02-17 14:19:30','',1579,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1579-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1583,4,'2012-02-17 14:21:11','2012-02-17 14:21:11','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day I see something in the communications world that either irks me, peeves me or just plain amazes me, and not in a good way.  There\'s so much that I am making it a weekly rant on the blog.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week\'s communication fail has to do with sharing... social sharing that is...and how hard it can be to do. </span>\r\n\r\n<strong>The communications failure for February 17th: Sharing done wrong.</strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here\'s what I have encountered this week:</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>No sharing buttons whatsoever on a blog or major news site</strong>. (In fact, I found no sharing buttons on a post about how to communicate effectively, I am not kidding.) This needs to stop. If you have a blog, you have to include the ability to share. </span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sharing buttons that share the name of the blog but not the name of the post</strong>. Why would I share something called say, Deb\'s blog and a URL and expect people to read it? If it said something like \"Why sharing buttons are crucial\" on Deb\'s blog, then yes.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sharing buttons that share the name of the post but not of the author</strong>. It\'s about giving credit where credit is due. There are so many sharing buttons out there, it\'s hard to find the right one. </span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are a blogger, do yourself a favor: check your sharing buttons right now. </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The weekly communications #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1579-revision-4','','','2012-02-17 14:21:11','2012-02-17 14:21:11','',1579,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1579-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),
(1585,4,'2012-02-20 18:41:47','2012-02-20 18:41:47','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">ATT sent me a \"special customer offer.\" The letter giving me notification of this \"special offer\" starts like this:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dear Deborah Brody,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You\'ve been such a great customer, you deserve something special from us.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">That\'s why I\'m offering you a <strong>FREE Android Smartphone</strong> when you activate an additional line of service with a new two-year voice agreement with qualifying monthly data plan required per phone.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">To recap, ATT will show its appreciation for my business by giving me a \"free\" phone, which will require me to subscribe to more services and pay more per month and only if I activate a second line.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Basically, they are offering me nothing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The thing is, I don\'t need a second line of service.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have gotten this same offer over and over and over again. Never once have I gotten an offer for a phone upgrade without ATT requiring a second line activation.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This offer is all about ATT and not at all about me. It is not even remotely tailored to the customer\'s needs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">ATT finishes its letter to me by saying:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don\'t think twice about this one, Deborah. Call today [phone number] and get it all.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I don\'t have to think about this at all. I know it is not an offer for me.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">ATT, your marketing is a big, fat #FAIL.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','ATT\'s not so special offer--a marketing #fail','','publish','open','open','','atts-not-so-special-offer-a-marketing-fail','','','2012-02-20 18:42:27','2012-02-20 18:42:27','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1585',0,'post','',0),
(1586,4,'2012-02-20 18:41:36','2012-02-20 18:41:36','ATT sent me a \"special customer offer.\" The letter giving me notification of this \"special offer\" starts like this:\n<blockquote>Dear Deborah Brody,\n\nYou\'ve been such a great customer, you deserve something special from us.\n\nThat\'s why I\'m offering you a <strong>FREE Android Smartphone</strong> when you activate an additional line of service with a new two-year voice agreement with qualifying monthly data plan required per phone.</blockquote>\nTo recap, ATT will show its appreciation for my business by giving me a \"free\" phone, which will require me to subscribe to more services and pay more per month and only if I activate a second line.\n\n<strong>Basically, they are offering me nothing.</strong>\n\nThe thing is, I don\'t need a second line of service.\n\nI have gotten this same offer over and over and over again. Never once have I gotten an offer for a phone upgrade without ATT requiring a second line activation.\n\nThis offer is all about ATT and not at all about me. It is not even remotely tailored to the customer\'s needs.\n\nATT finishes its letter to me by saying:\n<blockquote>Don\'t think twice about this one, Deborah. Call today [phone number] and get it all.</blockquote>\nI don\'t have to think about this at all. I know it is not an offer for me.\n\nATT, your marketing is a big, fat #FAIL.\n\n&nbsp;','ATT\'s not so special offer--a marketing #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1585-revision','','','2012-02-20 18:41:36','2012-02-20 18:41:36','',1585,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1585-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1587,4,'2012-02-20 18:41:47','2012-02-20 18:41:47','ATT sent me a \"special customer offer.\" The letter giving me notification of this \"special offer\" starts like this:\r\n<blockquote>Dear Deborah Brody,\r\n\r\nYou\'ve been such a great customer, you deserve something special from us.\r\n\r\nThat\'s why I\'m offering you a <strong>FREE Android Smartphone</strong> when you activate an additional line of service with a new two-year voice agreement with qualifying monthly data plan required per phone.</blockquote>\r\nTo recap, ATT will show its appreciation for my business by giving me a \"free\" phone, which will require me to subscribe to more services and pay more per month and only if I activate a second line.\r\n\r\n<strong>Basically, they are offering me nothing.</strong>\r\n\r\nThe thing is, I don\'t need a second line of service.\r\n\r\nI have gotten this same offer over and over and over again. Never once have I gotten an offer for a phone upgrade without ATT requiring a second line activation.\r\n\r\nThis offer is all about ATT and not at all about me. It is not even remotely tailored to the customer\'s needs.\r\n\r\nATT finishes its letter to me by saying:\r\n<blockquote>Don\'t think twice about this one, Deborah. Call today [phone number] and get it all.</blockquote>\r\nI don\'t have to think about this at all. I know it is not an offer for me.\r\n\r\nATT, your marketing is a big, fat #FAIL.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','ATT\'s not so special offer--a marketing #fail','','inherit','open','open','','1585-revision-2','','','2012-02-20 18:41:47','2012-02-20 18:41:47','',1585,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1585-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1589,4,'2012-02-24 14:28:17','2012-02-24 14:28:17','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, as I was reading The Washington Post, I came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/spike-tv-show-gives-silver-springs-piratz-tavern-a-makeover/2012/02/21/gIQADLA9SR_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">this item</a>, regarding a makeover for a Silver Spring, MD bar. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bar, formerly known as Piratz Tavern, was targeted by Spike TV to be redone.  Apparently, the bar\'s sales had been slumping and the owners appealed to the \"Bar Rescue\" show.  Piratz had a pirate theme--the waitstaff dressed up as pirates, there was rum, and \"pirate-themed\" food. The decor was pirate-casual (you know, skulls on the wall-like).</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In comes the Bar Rescue staff and Piratz Tavern becomes, are you ready for this? Corporate Bar and Grill, serving gourmet burgers to executives not interested in being pretend pirates. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Corporate Bar and Grill? Seriously? Could they have chosen a more generic name? A more generic menu? I am not a betting person, but I  would bet that this won\'t result in higher earnings, except if they are charging much more for these executive burgers.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps what Piratz needed was not a complete rebranding to become a generic grill, but instead, an effective way to market a quirky spot that is a bit out of the way for foot traffic. If foot traffic was the issue before, it will still be an issue now, regardless of whether the food is better. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you have something different, I think you should exploit it. Becoming just like everyone else is rarely a way to get ahead of the crowd.</span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Becoming more generic is this week\'s communications #fail.</span>','The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong','','publish','open','open','','the-weekly-communications-fail-rebranding-gone-wrong','','','2012-02-24 14:34:32','2012-02-24 14:34:32','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1589',0,'post','',1),
(1590,4,'2012-02-24 14:28:01','2012-02-24 14:28:01','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, as I was reading The Washington Post, I came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/spike-tv-show-gives-silver-springs-piratz-tavern-a-makeover/2012/02/21/gIQADLA9SR_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">this item</a>, regarding a makeover for a Silver Spring, MD bar. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bar, formerly known as Piratz Tavern, was targeted by Spike TV to be redone.  Apparently, the bar\'s sales had been slumping and the owners appealed to the \"Bar Rescue\" show.  Piratz had a pirate theme--the waitstaff dressed up as pirates, there was rum, and \"pirate-themed\" food. The decor was pirate-casual (you know, skulls on the wall-like).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In comes the Bar Rescue staff and Piratz Tavern becomes, are you ready for this? Corporate Bar and Grill, serving gourmet burgers to executives not interested in being pretend pirates. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Corporate Bar and Grill? Could they have chosen a more generic name? A more generic menu? I am not a betting person, but I don\'t think this will save the place.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps what Piratz needed was not a complete rebranding to become a generic grill, but instead, a way to market a quirky spot that is a bit out of the way for foot traffic. If foot traffic was the issue before, it will still be an issue now, regardless of whether the food is better. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you have something different, I think you should exploit it. Becoming just like everyone else is rarely a way to get ahead of the crowd.</span> Becoming more generic is this week\'s communications #fail.','The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong','','inherit','open','open','','1589-revision','','','2012-02-24 14:28:01','2012-02-24 14:28:01','',1589,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1589-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1591,4,'2012-02-24 14:33:49','2012-02-24 14:33:49','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, as I was reading The Washington Post, I came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/spike-tv-show-gives-silver-springs-piratz-tavern-a-makeover/2012/02/21/gIQADLA9SR_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">this item</a>, regarding a makeover for a Silver Spring, MD bar. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bar, formerly known as Piratz Tavern, was targeted by Spike TV to be redone.  Apparently, the bar\'s sales had been slumping and the owners appealed to the \"Bar Rescue\" show.  Piratz had a pirate theme--the waitstaff dressed up as pirates, there was rum, and \"pirate-themed\" food. The decor was pirate-casual (you know, skulls on the wall-like).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In comes the Bar Rescue staff and Piratz Tavern becomes, are you ready for this? Corporate Bar and Grill, serving gourmet burgers to executives not interested in being pretend pirates. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Corporate Bar and Grill? Seriously? Could they have chosen a more generic name? A more generic menu? I am not a betting person, but I  would bet that this won\'t result in higher earnings, ex this will save the place.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps what Piratz needed was not a complete rebranding to become a generic grill, but instead, a way to market a quirky spot that is a bit out of the way for foot traffic. If foot traffic was the issue before, it will still be an issue now, regardless of whether the food is better. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you have something different, I think you should exploit it. Becoming just like everyone else is rarely a way to get ahead of the crowd.</span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Becoming more generic is this week\'s communications #fail.</span>','The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong','','inherit','open','open','','1589-autosave','','','2012-02-24 14:33:49','2012-02-24 14:33:49','',1589,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1589-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1592,4,'2012-02-24 14:28:17','2012-02-24 14:28:17','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, as I was reading The Washington Post, I came across <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/spike-tv-show-gives-silver-springs-piratz-tavern-a-makeover/2012/02/21/gIQADLA9SR_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">this item</a>, regarding a makeover for a Silver Spring, MD bar. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bar, formerly known as Piratz Tavern, was targeted by Spike TV to be redone.  Apparently, the bar\'s sales had been slumping and the owners appealed to the \"Bar Rescue\" show.  Piratz had a pirate theme--the waitstaff dressed up as pirates, there was rum, and \"pirate-themed\" food. The decor was pirate-casual (you know, skulls on the wall-like).</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In comes the Bar Rescue staff and Piratz Tavern becomes, are you ready for this? Corporate Bar and Grill, serving gourmet burgers to executives not interested in being pretend pirates. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Corporate Bar and Grill? Could they have chosen a more generic name? A more generic menu? I am not a betting person, but I don\'t think this will save the place.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps what Piratz needed was not a complete rebranding to become a generic grill, but instead, a way to market a quirky spot that is a bit out of the way for foot traffic. If foot traffic was the issue before, it will still be an issue now, regardless of whether the food is better. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you have something different, I think you should exploit it. Becoming just like everyone else is rarely a way to get ahead of the crowd.</span> Becoming more generic is this week\'s communications #fail.','The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong','','inherit','open','open','','1589-revision-2','','','2012-02-24 14:28:17','2012-02-24 14:28:17','',1589,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1589-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(2764,4,'2012-09-02 20:08:56','2012-09-02 20:08:56','Deborah Brody Marketing Communications works with businesses and non-profit organizations. We have experience with various industries, including hospitality/tourism, financial, real estate, marketing, legal and software development.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clients have included:</strong>\r\n\r\nACTON Marketing\r\nAlexandria Education\r\n\r\nBNA\r\nB’nai B’rith International\r\nCaribbean Basin Enterprise\r\n\r\nDKD New Media\r\nHotel Presidente (Costa Rica)\r\n\r\nKARRASS\r\nLaw Offices of Jason Warshofsky\r\nMemorable Costa Rica\r\n\r\nMiCORE Solutions, Inc.\r\nSimply Savvy Events\r\n\r\nSperry Van Ness\r\nStarWave Associates\r\nStateTrust Group\r\nStreamline Communications\r\nStudio Twenty-Two\r\n\r\nSW Creatives\r\nTabacon Resort and Spa (Costa Rica)\r\nThe Gary Rosenthal Collection','Clients','','inherit','open','open','','38-revision-v1','','','2012-09-02 20:08:56','2012-09-02 20:08:56','',38,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/09/38-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),
(1594,4,'2011-07-22 04:13:27','2011-07-22 04:13:27','Deborah Brody Marketing Communications works with small to  medium-size businesses and non-profit organizations. We have experience  with various industries, including hospitality/tourism, financial, real  estate, marketing, legal and software development.\r\n\r\n<strong>Clients have included:</strong>\r\n\r\nACTON Marketing\r\nAlexandria Education\r\nB’nai B’rith International\r\nCaribbean Basin Enterprise\r\nHotel Presidente (Costa Rica)\r\nLaw Offices of Jason Warshofsky\r\nMemorable Costa Rica\r\nSimply Savvy Events\r\nStarWave Associates\r\nStateTrust Group\r\nStreamline Communications\r\nStudio Twenty-Two\r\nTabacon Resort and Spa (Costa Rica)\r\nThe Gary Rosenthal Collection','Clients','','inherit','open','open','','38-revision-v1','','','2011-07-22 04:13:27','2011-07-22 04:13:27','',38,'http://deborahbrody.com/2011/07/38-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1596,4,'2012-02-27 16:17:33','2012-02-27 16:17:33','Last night, I watched part of the Academy Awards (or Oscars to most everyone on the planet). I did not watch it all. And what I did watch, I didn\'t enjoy.\n\nIt seems quite ironic that the night meant to celebrating the best in film ENTERTAINMENT, is so un-entertaining.  The jokes were not funny, the audio was off (some weird feedback on the microphones), the show was too long. Some speakers were cut off, and Billy Crystal, the host, seemed caught in some time warp.\n\nPerhaps it is because Hollywood is out of touch (seriously, how many people in this economy could even afford a designer gown?). Or perhaps it is because the Academy is completely not representative of the population (it is mostly male, mostly white, mostly old, as the <a href=\"http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory\" target=\"_blank\">LA Times reported</a>).\n\nWith each passing year it seems that the red carpet pre-show, where the attendees show off what they are wearing, becomes more what people want to watch than the actual awards.\n\nSo, did YOU watch the Oscars? If so, what did you think?','Did you watch the Oscars?','','inherit','open','open','','1595-revision','','','2012-02-27 16:17:33','2012-02-27 16:17:33','',1595,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1595-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1597,4,'2012-02-27 16:19:32','2012-02-27 16:19:32','Last night, I watched part of the Academy Awards (or Oscars to most everyone on the planet). I did not watch it all. And what I did watch, I didn\'t enjoy.\n\nIt seems quite ironic that the night meant to celebrating the best in film ENTERTAINMENT, is so un-entertaining.  The jokes were not funny, the audio was off (some weird feedback on the microphones), the show was too long. Some speakers were cut off, and Billy Crystal, the host, seemed caught in some time warp.\n\nPerhaps it is because Hollywood is out of touch (seriously, how many people in this economy could even afford a designer gown?). Or perhaps it is because the Academy is completely not representative of the population (it is mostly male, mostly white, mostly old, as the <a href=\"http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory\" target=\"_blank\">LA Times reported</a>).\n\nWith each passing year it seems that the red carpet pre-show, where the attendees show off what they are wearing, becomes what more people want to watch than the actual awards.\n\nSo, did YOU watch the Oscars? If so, what did you think?','Did you watch the Oscars?','','inherit','open','open','','1595-autosave','','','2012-02-27 16:19:32','2012-02-27 16:19:32','',1595,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1595-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1599,4,'2012-02-28 15:09:48','2012-02-28 15:09:48','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever been to a job interview where you are not encouraged to ask questions? Have you been offered a job where you don\'t ask about benefits, salary or vacation/sick day policy? I would bet that if you went to a job interview and you did not meet who you would be working for, and where, and if the interviewer did not tell you a bit about the hiring organization, you would be a bit hesitant about it being a good fit for you.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some organizations seem to believe that if they are deigning to hire someone--be it an employee or a consultant or an agency or any type of service--they don\'t need to market themselves. Potential hires should just be excited that someone is offering to consider them or their services. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Companies that care about providing a good work environment are proud to let the world know about it. They even use it as a differentiator. You have probably seen organizations that tout that they were selected as a top employer for working moms, or most socially responsible organization and so forth. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are many organizations out there, and if you are in marketing, you must differentiate yourself from everyone else. Even if you are \"just hiring.\"</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, I got the following email (identity is concealed):</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Subject: What type of work do you do?</em></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Body: Just starting the process to see if we want to bring in a firm as a consultant on several projects. What type of work does your firm do? Who/what are your clients?</em></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>[name] </em></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Marketing Manager</em></span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em> <strong></strong>[COMPANY NAME]</em></span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em> [phone/fax/email/address]</em></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This marketing manager is not managing to market herself at all. What does her company do? What types of projects is she interested in? Why would I want to answer her? (Not to mention that you can find answers to all these questions right here on my website.)</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Marketing is about making an impression. Even if you are doing the hiring does not mean you don\'t have to impress your potential hiree about what a good/special/professional company you are. Perhaps you are known for paying well, or paying on time, or being responsive, or having employees that have been there for decades. Whatever it is, it is what makes your organization special and different from other organizations.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Just because you are doing the hiring doesn\'t mean you don\'t have to market yourself','','publish','open','open','','just-because-you-are-doing-the-hiring-doesnt-mean-you-dont-have-to-market-yourself','','','2012-02-28 15:11:36','2012-02-28 15:11:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1599',0,'post','',2),
(1600,4,'2012-02-28 15:09:08','2012-02-28 15:09:08','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever been to a job interview where you are not encouraged to ask questions? Have you been offered a job where you don\'t ask about benefits, salary or vacation/sick day policy? I would bet that if you went to a job interview and you did not meet who you would be working for, and where, and if the interviewer did not tell you a bit about the hiring organization, you would be a bit hesitant about it being a good fit for you.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some organizations seem to believe that if they are deigning to hire someone--be it an employee or a consultant or an agency or any type of service--they don\'t need to market themselves. Potential hires should just be excited that someone is offering to consider them or their services. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Companies that care about providing a good work environment are proud to let the world know about it. They even use it as a differentiator. You have probably seen organizations that tout that they were selected as a top employer for working moms, or most socially responsible organization and so forth. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are many organizations out there, and if you are in marketing, you must differentiate yourself from everyone else. Even if you are \"just hiring.\"</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, I got the following email (identity is concealed):</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Subject: What type of work do you do?</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Body: Just starting the process to see if we want to bring in a firm as a consultant on several projects. What type of work does your firm do? Who/what are your clients?</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[name] </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Marketing Manager</span>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong></strong>[COMPANY NAME]</span>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[phone/fax/email/address]</span>\n\nThis marketing manager is not managing to market herself at all. What does her company do? What types of projects is she interested in? Why would I want to answer her? (Not to mention that you can find answers to all these questions right here on my website.)\n\nMarketing is about making an impression. Even if you are doing the hiring does not mean you don\'t have to impress your potential hiree about what a good/special/professional company you are. Perhaps you are known for paying well, or paying on time, or being responsive, or having employees that have been there for decades. Whatever it is, it is what makes your organization special and different from other organizations.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Just because you are doing the hiring doesn\'t mean you don\'t have to market yourself','','inherit','open','open','','1599-revision','','','2012-02-28 15:09:08','2012-02-28 15:09:08','',1599,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1599-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1601,4,'2012-02-28 15:09:48','2012-02-28 15:09:48','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever been to a job interview where you are not encouraged to ask questions? Have you been offered a job where you don\'t ask about benefits, salary or vacation/sick day policy? I would bet that if you went to a job interview and you did not meet who you would be working for, and where, and if the interviewer did not tell you a bit about the hiring organization, you would be a bit hesitant about it being a good fit for you.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some organizations seem to believe that if they are deigning to hire someone--be it an employee or a consultant or an agency or any type of service--they don\'t need to market themselves. Potential hires should just be excited that someone is offering to consider them or their services. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Companies that care about providing a good work environment are proud to let the world know about it. They even use it as a differentiator. You have probably seen organizations that tout that they were selected as a top employer for working moms, or most socially responsible organization and so forth. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are many organizations out there, and if you are in marketing, you must differentiate yourself from everyone else. Even if you are \"just hiring.\"</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, I got the following email (identity is concealed):</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Subject: What type of work do you do?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Body: Just starting the process to see if we want to bring in a firm as a consultant on several projects. What type of work does your firm do? Who/what are your clients?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[name] </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Marketing Manager</span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong></strong>[COMPANY NAME]</span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[phone/fax/email/address]</span>\r\n\r\nThis marketing manager is not managing to market herself at all. What does her company do? What types of projects is she interested in? Why would I want to answer her? (Not to mention that you can find answers to all these questions right here on my website.)\r\n\r\nMarketing is about making an impression. Even if you are doing the hiring does not mean you don\'t have to impress your potential hiree about what a good/special/professional company you are. Perhaps you are known for paying well, or paying on time, or being responsive, or having employees that have been there for decades. Whatever it is, it is what makes your organization special and different from other organizations.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Just because you are doing the hiring doesn\'t mean you don\'t have to market yourself','','inherit','open','open','','1599-revision-2','','','2012-02-28 15:09:48','2012-02-28 15:09:48','',1599,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1599-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1602,4,'2012-02-28 15:12:42','2012-02-28 15:12:42','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever been to a job interview where you are not encouraged to ask questions? Have you been offered a job where you don\'t ask about benefits, salary or vacation/sick day policy? I would bet that if you went to a job interview and you did not meet who you would be working for, and where, and if the interviewer did not tell you a bit about the hiring organization, you would be a bit hesitant about it being a good fit for you.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some organizations seem to believe that if they are deigning to hire someone--be it an employee or a consultant or an agency or any type of service--they don\'t need to market themselves. Potential hires should just be excited that someone is offering to consider them or their services. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Companies that care about providing a good work environment are proud to let the world know about it. They even use it as a differentiator. You have probably seen organizations that tout that they were selected as a top employer for working moms, or most socially responsible organization and so forth. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are many organizations out there, and if you are in marketing, you must differentiate yourself from everyone else. Even if you are \"just hiring.\"</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, I got the following email (identity is concealed):</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Subject: What type of work do you do?</em></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Body: Just starting the process to see if we want to bring in a firm as a consultant on several projects. What type of work does your firm do? Who/what are your clients?</em></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>[name] </em></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Marketing Manager</em></span>\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em> <strong></strong>[COMPANY NAME]</em></span>\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em> [phone/fax/email/address]</em></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This marketing manager is not managing to market herself at all. What does her company do? What types of projects is she interested in? Why would I want to answer her? (Not to mention that you can find answers to all these questions right here on my website.)</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Marketing is about making an impression. Even if you are doing the hiring does not mean you don\'t have to impress your potential hiree about what a good/special/professional company you are. Perhaps you are known for paying well, or paying on time, or being responsive, or having employees that have been there for decades. Whatever it is, it is what makes your organization special and different from other organizations.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Just because you are doing the hiring doesn\'t mean you don\'t have to market yourself','','inherit','open','open','','1599-autosave','','','2012-02-28 15:12:42','2012-02-28 15:12:42','',1599,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1599-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1624,4,'2012-03-10 13:22:20','2012-03-10 13:22:20','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are all inundated with messaging from every which way. We get voice mail and texts, email, direct messages, tweets, and even snail mail. Sometimes we just don\'t have time to respond to everything and everyone, but that choice is a communications failure. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week, I told you all about the incident with my website. The woman who was the root cause of this issue has yet to respond to any of the tweets or emails I sent her. Not a single word (and the words I would most like to hear are \"I am sorry\").  No acknowledgment that she messed up and that her screw up affected my business (and not to mention, cost me money).  By not responding, she has made matters worse because now she has increased my anger level and shown me that she just doesn\'t care.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, sometimes people respond because they feel compelled to. Their parents jammed manners into them, and thus, they resent having to answer each and every message. They can become passive-aggressive and they issue responses that don\'t actually respond but put it off by telling you they tell you they\'ll get back to you when they are a bit less busy or when Jupiter is in line with Neptune. In a sense, this is not communication but aggression.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sometimes we don\'t respond because we don\'t have an answer. This is still non-communication.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Whether you have a legitimate reason or not, when you fail to respond to someone who is talking directly to you, you are failing to communicate.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: no response','','publish','open','open','','weekly-communications-fail-no-response','','','2012-03-10 13:22:20','2012-03-10 13:22:20','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1624',0,'post','',0),
(1604,4,'2012-02-29 17:31:07','2012-02-29 17:31:07','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you catch<a title=\"The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/the-weekly-communications-fail-rebranding-gone-wrong/\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> my blog post last week</span></a> on what I consider a rebranding #fail for Piratz Tavern? Robert Freeland did, and he shared his thoughts with me (and I thought I would share them with you, with his permission of course)</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Deborah,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I agree with your prediction that the Corporate Bar and Grill angle Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” guru, Jon Taffer, thinks will save the sputtering Piratz Tavern will die its own death. The first article I read about the makeover had Taffer proclaiming the need for an “executive burger” joint in Silver Spring…whatever an executive burger is.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I’ve had plenty of enjoyable times and grogs at PT, and will miss its one-of-a-kind shtick. The thing that displaced it attempts to strongarm pretention into a dive…an antithetical marriage, like matter and antimatter…Boom! I think Taffer missed the one about understanding a region’s audience before dictating what they need.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I walked past CB&amp;G this evening, after leaving a very-packed Quarry House across the street (where the burgers are great). It was open but dead, consistent with your forecast. Ground beef and low inventory rotation don’t get along well.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Best,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Robert Freeland</span></blockquote>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\'ll keep tabs on the new place, but unless \"executives\" develop a taste for these burgers, AND flock there religiously every lunch, I doubt the new place will survive. These days, competition is stiff for any dollars.  How do you stand out from a crowd? In this case, the shtick was the attraction. Substituting a generic experience in a place with little foot traffic is a sure-fire way to lose business.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Katie Aberbach at expressnightout.com seems to agree in her post <a href=\"http://www.expressnightout.com/2012/02/walked-the-plank/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Walked the Plank</span></a>. What do you think will happen?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz','','publish','open','open','','piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz','','','2012-02-29 17:32:59','2012-02-29 17:32:59','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1604',0,'post','',0),
(1605,4,'2012-02-29 17:29:55','2012-02-29 17:29:55','Did you catch<a title=\"The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/the-weekly-communications-fail-rebranding-gone-wrong/\"> my blog post last week</a> on what I consider a rebranding #fail for Piratz Tavern? Robert Freeland did, and he shared his thoughts with me (and I thought I would share them with you, with his permission of course)\n<blockquote>Hi Deborah,\n\nI agree with your prediction that the Corporate Bar and Grill angle Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” guru, Jon Taffer, thinks will save the sputtering Piratz Tavern will die its own death. The first article I read about the makeover had Taffer proclaiming the need for an “executive burger” joint in Silver Spring…whatever an executive burger is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI’ve had plenty of enjoyable times and grogs at PT, and will miss its one-of-a-kind shtick. The thing that displaced it attempts to strongarm pretention into a dive…an antithetical marriage, like matter and antimatter…Boom! I think Taffer missed the one about understanding a region’s audience before dictating what they need.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI walked past CB&amp;G this evening, after leaving a very-packed Quarry House across the street (where the burgers are great). It was open but dead, consistent with your forecast. Ground beef and low inventory rotation don’t get along well.\n\nBest,\n\nRobert Freeland</blockquote>\n&nbsp;\n\nWe\'ll keep tabs on the new place, but unless \"executives\" develop a taste for these burgers, AND flock there religiously every lunch, I doubt the new place will survive. These days, competition is stiff for any dollars.  How do you stand out from a crowd? In this case, the shtick was the attraction. Substituting a generic experience in a place with little foot traffic is a sure-fire way to lose business.\n\nK<a href=\"http://www.expressnightout.com/2012/02/walked-the-plank/\" target=\"_blank\">atie Aberbach at ExpressNightOut</a> seems to agree. What do you think will happen?\n\n&nbsp;','Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz','','inherit','open','open','','1604-revision','','','2012-02-29 17:29:55','2012-02-29 17:29:55','',1604,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1604-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1606,4,'2012-02-29 17:32:50','2012-02-29 17:32:50','Did you catch<a title=\"The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/the-weekly-communications-fail-rebranding-gone-wrong/\"> my blog post last week</a> on what I consider a rebranding #fail for Piratz Tavern? Robert Freeland did, and he shared his thoughts with me (and I thought I would share them with you, with his permission of course)\n<blockquote>Hi Deborah,\n\nI agree with your prediction that the Corporate Bar and Grill angle Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” guru, Jon Taffer, thinks will save the sputtering Piratz Tavern will die its own death. The first article I read about the makeover had Taffer proclaiming the need for an “executive burger” joint in Silver Spring…whatever an executive burger is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI’ve had plenty of enjoyable times and grogs at PT, and will miss its one-of-a-kind shtick. The thing that displaced it attempts to strongarm pretention into a dive…an antithetical marriage, like matter and antimatter…Boom! I think Taffer missed the one about understanding a region’s audience before dictating what they need.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI walked past CB&amp;G this evening, after leaving a very-packed Quarry House across the street (where the burgers are great). It was open but dead, consistent with your forecast. Ground beef and low inventory rotation don’t get along well.\n\nBest,\n\nRobert Freeland</blockquote>\n&nbsp;\n\nWe\'ll keep tabs on the new place, but unless \"executives\" develop a taste for these burgers, AND flock there religiously every lunch, I doubt the new place will survive. These days, competition is stiff for any dollars.  How do you stand out from a crowd? In this case, the shtick was the attraction. Substituting a generic experience in a place with little foot traffic is a sure-fire way to lose business.\n\nKatie Aberbach at expressnightout.com seems to agree in her post <a href=\"http://www.expressnightout.com/2012/02/walked-the-plank/\" target=\"_blank\">Walked the Plank</a>. What do you think will happen?\n\n&nbsp;','Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz','','inherit','open','open','','1604-autosave','','','2012-02-29 17:32:50','2012-02-29 17:32:50','',1604,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1604-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1607,4,'2012-02-29 17:31:07','2012-02-29 17:31:07','Did you catch<a title=\"The weekly communications #fail: rebranding gone wrong\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/the-weekly-communications-fail-rebranding-gone-wrong/\"> my blog post last week</a> on what I consider a rebranding #fail for Piratz Tavern? Robert Freeland did, and he shared his thoughts with me (and I thought I would share them with you, with his permission of course)\r\n<blockquote>Hi Deborah,\r\n\r\nI agree with your prediction that the Corporate Bar and Grill angle Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” guru, Jon Taffer, thinks will save the sputtering Piratz Tavern will die its own death. The first article I read about the makeover had Taffer proclaiming the need for an “executive burger” joint in Silver Spring…whatever an executive burger is.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI’ve had plenty of enjoyable times and grogs at PT, and will miss its one-of-a-kind shtick. The thing that displaced it attempts to strongarm pretention into a dive…an antithetical marriage, like matter and antimatter…Boom! I think Taffer missed the one about understanding a region’s audience before dictating what they need.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI walked past CB&amp;G this evening, after leaving a very-packed Quarry House across the street (where the burgers are great). It was open but dead, consistent with your forecast. Ground beef and low inventory rotation don’t get along well.\r\n\r\nBest,\r\n\r\nRobert Freeland</blockquote>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe\'ll keep tabs on the new place, but unless \"executives\" develop a taste for these burgers, AND flock there religiously every lunch, I doubt the new place will survive. These days, competition is stiff for any dollars.  How do you stand out from a crowd? In this case, the shtick was the attraction. Substituting a generic experience in a place with little foot traffic is a sure-fire way to lose business.\r\n\r\nK<a href=\"http://www.expressnightout.com/2012/02/walked-the-plank/\" target=\"_blank\">atie Aberbach at ExpressNightOut</a> seems to agree. What do you think will happen?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz','','inherit','open','open','','1604-revision-2','','','2012-02-29 17:31:07','2012-02-29 17:31:07','',1604,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1604-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1608,4,'2012-02-29 21:53:49','2012-02-29 21:53:49','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today has been one of those days, where there are tons of great articles, interesting observations and news, so here\'s a round-up. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>New timeline on Facebook</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In case you missed it, Facebook is forcing its new timeline on all brand/organizational pages by March 30th. You have a month to prepare, and here is a fantastic how-to from HubSpot:</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31633/The-Complete-Guide-to-Setting-Up-the-New-Facebook-Page-Design.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Complete Guide to Setting Up the New Facebook Page Design</span></a></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Print advertising in major decline</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is no secret that print media are suffering, not only from the fact that most people seem to prefer to access information online, but by a decline in print advertising. <a href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-collapse-of-print-advertising-in-1-graph/253736/#.T05EJz3zYJd.twitter\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Atlantic has a graph</span></a> that shows the precipitous decline over the past 60 years, most of it in the past decade. Sad news for print outlets.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Power-crazed bosses</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A few weeks ago I wrot<a title=\"When ego and attitude derail your marketing efforts\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/when-ego-and-attitude-derail-your-marketing-efforts/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">e here on the blo</span></a>g about how ego can get in the way of effective communication. In case you want to explore this issue more, <a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/1821051/are-you-a-power-poisoned-boss\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fast Company published an article</span></a> about how power can poison bosses--to the point they lose all self-awareness and empathy. Believe me, power-crazed bosses are not going to get why their communications efforts aren\'t working. It must be your ineptitude or stupidity--not their inability to view things rationally.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Round-up: Facebook\'s new timeline, print ads and bad bosses','','publish','open','open','','round-up-facebooks-new-timeline-print-ads-and-bad-bosses','','\nhttp://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/when-ego-and-attitude-derail-your-marketing-efforts/','2012-02-29 21:53:49','2012-02-29 21:53:49','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1608',0,'post','',0),
(1609,4,'2012-02-29 21:53:41','2012-02-29 21:53:41','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today has been one of those days, where there are tons of great articles, interesting observations and news, so here\'s a round-up. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>New timeline on Facebook</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In case you missed it, Facebook is forcing its new timeline on all brand/organizational pages by March 30th. You have a month to prepare, and here is a fantastic how-to from HubSpot:</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31633/The-Complete-Guide-to-Setting-Up-the-New-Facebook-Page-Design.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Complete Guide to Setting Up the New Facebook Page Design</span></a></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Print advertising in major decline</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is no secret that print media are suffering, not only from the fact that most people seem to prefer to access information online, but by a decline in print advertising. <a href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-collapse-of-print-advertising-in-1-graph/253736/#.T05EJz3zYJd.twitter\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Atlantic has a graph</span></a> that shows the precipitous decline over the past 60 years, most of it in the past decade. Sad news for print outlets.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Power-crazed bosses</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A few weeks ago I wrot<a title=\"When ego and attitude derail your marketing efforts\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/when-ego-and-attitude-derail-your-marketing-efforts/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">e here on the blo</span></a>g about how ego can get in the way of effective communication. In case you want to explore this issue more, <a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/1821051/are-you-a-power-poisoned-boss\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fast Company published an article</span></a> about how power can poison bosses--to the point they lose all self-awareness and empathy. Believe me, power-crazed bosses are not going to get why their communications efforts aren\'t working. It must be your ineptitude or stupidity--not their inability to view things rationally.</span>\n\n&nbsp;','Round-up: Facebook\'s new timeline, print ad and bad bosses','','inherit','open','open','','1608-revision','','','2012-02-29 21:53:41','2012-02-29 21:53:41','',1608,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/1608-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1610,4,'2012-03-02 14:00:16','2012-03-02 14:00:16','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Homonyms: words that sound and/or are spelled the same but have different things</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I was reading the Washington Post this morning, on the front page was an article about a rapist recently sentenced to three life terms.  In the article, the reporter said that the rapist \"<strong>reined</strong> terror on Montgomery three decades ago...\" Of course, the correct word in this context is <strong>reigned</strong>. Reined (restrained)  and reigned (exercised power over) sound the same--they are homonyms--but have completely unrelated meanings. Yesterday, I was reading a blog post with a headline that said \"too much to<strong> bare</strong>.\" The author really meant to say \"too much to <strong>bear</strong>.\"  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Granted, these mistakes are easy to make because the words are not spelled incorrectly (so spell check would  not help) and they sound the same to your ear (so reading aloud would not catch it). Sadly, misusing homonyms is a common mistake.  Here\'s a list of the most common: <a href=\"http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\r\n</span></a></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These types of mistakes are  precisely why we need editors. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How you say it matters</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Using the correct words is important. But how you say what you are saying also matters. If you are asking me to do something for you, being pleasant and appreciative makes me want to help you. If on the other hand you write me asking me for something you need (like an email I received a few weeks ago) that says that this thing is needed right away, and you don\'t say please, thank you or that you would appreciate my help, then, I am not inclined to help you.</span>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Being polite and considerate of whoever is receiving your business communication will result in better compliance. That\'s a fact.  Being rude, inconsiderate or demanding, on the other hand, will result in resistance.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: homonyms, and how you say it matters','','publish','open','open','','weekly-communications-fail-homonyms-and-how-you-say-it-matters','','','2012-03-02 14:03:26','2012-03-02 14:03:26','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1610',0,'post','',0),
(1611,4,'2012-03-02 14:00:12','2012-03-02 14:00:12','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Homonyms: words that sound and/or are spelled the same but have different things</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I was reading the Washington Post this morning, on the front page was an article about a rapist recently sentenced to three life terms.  In the article, the reporter said that the rapist \"<strong>reined</strong> terror on Montgomery three decades ago...\" Of course, the correct word is reigned. Reined (restrained)  and reigned (exercised power over) sound the same--they are homonyms--but have completely unrelated meanings. Yesterday, I was reading a blog post with a headline that said \"too much to bare.\" The author really meant to say \"too much to bear.\"  </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Granted, these mistakes are easy to make because the words are not spelled incorrectly (so spell check would  not help) and they sound the same to your ear (so reading aloud would not catch it). Sadly, misusing homonyms is a common mistake.  Here\'s a list of the most common: <a href=\"http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\n</span></a></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These types of mistakes are  precisely why we need editors. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How you say it matters</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Using the correct words is important. But how you say what you are saying also matters. If you are asking me to do something for you, being pleasant and appreciative makes me want to help you. If on the other hand you write me asking me for something you need (like an email I received a few weeks ago) that says that this thing is needed right away, and you don\'t say please, thank you or that you would appreciate my help, then, I am not inclined to help you.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Being polite and considerate of whoever is receiving your business communication will result in better compliance. That\'s a fact.  Being rude, inconsiderate or demanding, on the other hand, will result in resistance.</span>\n\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: homonyms, and how you say it matters','','inherit','open','open','','1610-revision','','','2012-03-02 14:00:12','2012-03-02 14:00:12','',1610,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1610-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1612,4,'2012-03-02 14:04:31','2012-03-02 14:04:31','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Homonyms: words that sound and/or are spelled the same but have different things</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I was reading the Washington Post this morning, on the front page was an article about a rapist recently sentenced to three life terms.  In the article, the reporter said that the rapist \"<strong>reined</strong> terror on Montgomery three decades ago...\" Of course, the correct word in this context is <strong>reigned</strong>. Reined (restrained)  and reigned (exercised power over) sound the same--they are homonyms--but have completely unrelated meanings. Yesterday, I was reading a blog post with a headline that said \"too much to<strong> bare</strong>.\" The author really meant to say \"too much to <strong>bear</strong>.\"  </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Granted, these mistakes are easy to make because the words are not spelled incorrectly (so spell check would  not help) and they sound the same to your ear (so reading aloud would not catch it). Sadly, misusing homonyms is a common mistake.  Here\'s a list of the most common: <a href=\"http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\n</span></a></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These types of mistakes are  precisely why we need editors. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How you say it matters</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Using the correct words is important. But how you say what you are saying also matters. If you are asking me to do something for you, being pleasant and appreciative makes me want to help you. If on the other hand you write me asking me for something you need (like an email I received a few weeks ago) that says that this thing is needed right away, and you don\'t say please, thank you or that you would appreciate my help, then, I am not inclined to help you.</span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Being polite and considerate of whoever is receiving your business communication will result in better compliance. That\'s a fact.  Being rude, inconsiderate or demanding, on the other hand, will result in resistance.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: homonyms, and how you say it matters','','inherit','open','open','','1610-autosave','','','2012-03-02 14:04:31','2012-03-02 14:04:31','',1610,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1610-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1613,4,'2012-03-02 14:00:16','2012-03-02 14:00:16','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Homonyms: words that sound and/or are spelled the same but have different things</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I was reading the Washington Post this morning, on the front page was an article about a rapist recently sentenced to three life terms.  In the article, the reporter said that the rapist \"<strong>reined</strong> terror on Montgomery three decades ago...\" Of course, the correct word is reigned. Reined (restrained)  and reigned (exercised power over) sound the same--they are homonyms--but have completely unrelated meanings. Yesterday, I was reading a blog post with a headline that said \"too much to bare.\" The author really meant to say \"too much to bear.\"  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Granted, these mistakes are easy to make because the words are not spelled incorrectly (so spell check would  not help) and they sound the same to your ear (so reading aloud would not catch it). Sadly, misusing homonyms is a common mistake.  Here\'s a list of the most common: <a href=\"http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">http://wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm\r\n</span></a></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These types of mistakes are  precisely why we need editors. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How you say it matters</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Using the correct words is important. But how you say what you are saying also matters. If you are asking me to do something for you, being pleasant and appreciative makes me want to help you. If on the other hand you write me asking me for something you need (like an email I received a few weeks ago) that says that this thing is needed right away, and you don\'t say please, thank you or that you would appreciate my help, then, I am not inclined to help you.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Being polite and considerate of whoever is receiving your business communication will result in better compliance. That\'s a fact.  Being rude, inconsiderate or demanding, on the other hand, will result in resistance.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: homonyms, and how you say it matters','','inherit','open','open','','1610-revision-2','','','2012-03-02 14:00:16','2012-03-02 14:00:16','',1610,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1610-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1615,4,'2012-03-05 15:32:49','2012-03-05 15:32:49','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Twitter trolls and raconteurs\r\n</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you follow me on Twitter you know that I often share articles and insights regarding communications, marketing, PR and social media. You will also see a lot of political commentary. I know that having a political point of view can be a turn-off to some potential clients, but I have chosen to use my social media to share what is important to me. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yesterday, I tweeted about how the GOP is working to deny access to contraceptives. Promptly, a pro-Mitt Romney supporter (don\'t know name or gender or location) tweeted back that contraception is not health care. I pointed out to him or her that getting pregnant can lead to health complications for certain people so contraception certainly can be health care. He or she said there are many \"natural\" ways to prevent conception. It kept going until the troll was silenced with something he or she had no answer for...why insurance should cover Viagra.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">After this exchange, I was left wondering once again why people on Twitter seek out those who they disagree with and start sparring with them. I don\'t.  I am not there to fight with those that don\'t see the world like I do...and I certainly don\'t seek battles out. If I disagree with someone I follow/follows me, that\'s a different story. I didn\'t go out looking for a fight.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Social media can connect you to people all over. In my mind, I would rather find those people I connect with rather than those I disagree with. I would rather find friends than enemies.</span>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Crumbling by Lorianne DiSabato, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/932068635/\"><img src=\"http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1399/932068635_655049239a.jpg\" alt=\"Crumbling\" width=\"500\" height=\"347\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Photo from Loriane DiSabato via Flickr.</span>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Facebook \"friends\"</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Facebook friends  are people you have met at some time in your life, and with whom you share a Facebook \"connection.\" Sadly, it is not a real connection but rather an artificial one. There are those friends who never use the site at all. Are you connected if you never hear from one another? And then there are those that share every minute detail of every day. They aren\'t connecting--they are spamming everyone they have met with everything on their minds.  And then there are those who only feel comfortable connecting over Facebook. These people are incapable of picking up the phone or sending a non-Facebook email. Instead, they \"connect\" with you by liking your post or wishing you a happy birthday on your wall.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">On his blog, the 8 pm Warrior, Aaron Briebert said in the post <a href=\"http://8pmwarrior.com/2012/02/warning-social-media-is-killing-real-communication-and-relationships/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\"Warning: Social Media is Killing Real Communication (and Relationships)\"</span></a>  that social media is a form of deferred communication, and one that is</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">tearing apart traditional relationships.  Especially among young people. As we get overwhelmed by deferred communication, stuff is missed.  Divisions are formed.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mashable recently published this post: \"<a href=\"http://mashable.com/2012/03/01/social-media-less-connected/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Is Social Media Actually Making Us Less Connected?\"</span></a>, in which Professor Sherry Turkle from MIT says that technology is impacting the quality of our relationships.  </span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One major issue, she [Turkle] said, is that when we text, email or post to a social networking site, we’re able to project ourselves as we want to be seen. “We get to edit, we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Inversely, Turkle notes that a face-to-face conversation “takes place in real time and you can’t control what you’re going to say.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Further, with our phones at our constant disposal, Turkle says we’re only paying attention to the things we want to pay attention to. And that leaves us increasingly disconnected from our friends, family and co-workers as we simply turn to our devices when a conversation no longer interests us.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Social media is not helping anybody develop social skills, in fact, it seems to be killing social skills. If we have a disagreement with someone, instead of having a difficult conversation, we are unfollowing or unfriending. If we don\'t care for someone, we just hide their posts or block them.  And there are those who expect that you will learn about major life events (engagements, break-ups, promotions, babies) from their Facebook status</span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The fact is real relationships take effort</strong>. Facebooking and Tweeting can be done in a few minutes a day.  It\'s quite easy to post a happy birthday message on someone\'s wall. But to call the person, send him or her a card, or see him or her in person takes time and effort. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you think social media is really social?\r\n</span>','What is going on with the social in social media?','','publish','open','open','','what-is-going-on-with-the-social-in-social-media','','','2012-03-05 15:32:49','2012-03-05 15:32:49','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1615',0,'post','',0),
(1616,4,'2012-03-05 15:23:47','2012-03-05 15:23:47','Twitter trolls and ranconteurs\n\nIf you follow me on Twitter you know that I often share articles and insights regarding communications, marketing, PR and social media. You will also see a lot of political commentary. I know that having a political point of view can be a turn-off to some potential clients, but I have chosen to use my social media to share what is important to me.\n\nYesterday, I tweeted about how the GOP is working to deny access to contraceptives. Promptly, a pro-Mitt Romney supporter (don\'t know name or gender or location) tweeted back that contraception is not health care. I pointed out to him or her that getting pregnant can lead to health complications for certain people so contraception certainly can be health care. He or she said there are many \"natural\" ways to prevent conception. It kept going until the troll was silenced with something he or she had no answer for...why insurance should cover Viagra.\n\nAfter this exchange, I was left wondering once again why people on Twitter seek out those who they disagree with and start sparring with them. I don\'t.  I am not there to fight with those that don\'t see the world like I do...and I certainly don\'t seek battles out. If I disagree with someone I follow/follows me, that\'s a different story. I didn\'t go out looking for a fight.\n\nSocial media can connect you to people all over. In my mind, I would rather find those people I connect with rather than those I disagree with. I would rather find friends than enemies.\n\n&lt;a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/932068635/\" title=\"Crumbling by Lorianne DiSabato, on Flickr\"&gt;&lt;img src=\"http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1399/932068635_655049239a.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"347\" alt=\"Crumbling\"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\n\nPhoto from Loriane DiSabato via Flickr.\n\nFacebook \"friends\"\n\nFacebook friends  are people you have met at some time in your life, and with whom you share a Facebook \"connection.\" Sadly, it is not a real connection but rather an artificial one. There are those friends who never use the site at all. Are you connected if you never hear from one another? And then there are those that share every minute detail of every day. They aren\'t connecting--they are spamming everyone they have met with everything on their minds.  And then there are those who only feel comfortable connecting over Facebook. These people are incapable of picking up the phone or sending a non-Facebook email. Instead, they \"connect\" with you by liking your post or wishing you a happy birthday on your wall.\n\nOn his blog, the 8 pm Warrior, Aaron Briebert said in the post <a href=\"http://8pmwarrior.com/2012/02/warning-social-media-is-killing-real-communication-and-relationships/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Warning: Social Media is Killing Real Communication (and Relationships)\"</a>  that social media is a form of deferred communication, and one that is\n<blockquote>tearing apart traditional relationships.  Especially among young people. As we get overwhelmed by deferred communication, stuff is missed.  Divisions are formed.</blockquote>\nMashable recently published this post: \"<a href=\"http://mashable.com/2012/03/01/social-media-less-connected/\" target=\"_blank\">Is Social Media Actually Making Us Less Connected?\"</a>, in which Professor Sherry Turkle from MIT says that technology is impacting the quality of our relationships.\n<blockquote>One major issue, she [Turkle] said, is that when we text, email or post to a social networking site, we’re able to project ourselves as we want to be seen. “We get to edit, we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch.”\n\nInversely, Turkle notes that a face-to-face conversation “takes place in real time and you can’t control what you’re going to say.”\n\nFurther, with our phones at our constant disposal, Turkle says we’re only paying attention to the things we want to pay attention to. And that leaves us increasingly disconnected from our friends, family and co-workers as we simply turn to our devices when a conversation no longer interests us.</blockquote>\nSocial media is not helping anybody develop social skills, in fact, it seems to be killing social skills. If we have a disagreement with someone, instead of having a difficult conversation, we are unfollowing or unfriending. If we don\'t care for someone, we just hide their posts or block them.  And there are those who expect that because they share everything on Facebook, that you should be aware of it--they say, didn\'t you see t','What is going on with the social in social media?','','inherit','open','open','','1615-revision','','','2012-03-05 15:23:47','2012-03-05 15:23:47','',1615,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1615-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1617,4,'2012-03-05 15:24:47','2012-03-05 15:24:47','Twitter trolls and ranconteurs\n\nIf you follow me on Twitter you know that I often share articles and insights regarding communications, marketing, PR and social media. You will also see a lot of political commentary. I know that having a political point of view can be a turn-off to some potential clients, but I have chosen to use my social media to share what is important to me.\n\nYesterday, I tweeted about how the GOP is working to deny access to contraceptives. Promptly, a pro-Mitt Romney supporter (don\'t know name or gender or location) tweeted back that contraception is not health care. I pointed out to him or her that getting pregnant can lead to health complications for certain people so contraception certainly can be health care. He or she said there are many \"natural\" ways to prevent conception. It kept going until the troll was silenced with something he or she had no answer for...why insurance should cover Viagra.\n\nAfter this exchange, I was left wondering once again why people on Twitter seek out those who they disagree with and start sparring with them. I don\'t.  I am not there to fight with those that don\'t see the world like I do...and I certainly don\'t seek battles out. If I disagree with someone I follow/follows me, that\'s a different story. I didn\'t go out looking for a fight.\n\nSocial media can connect you to people all over. In my mind, I would rather find those people I connect with rather than those I disagree with. I would rather find friends than enemies.\n\n&lt;a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/932068635/\" title=\"Crumbling by Lorianne DiSabato, on Flickr\"&gt;&lt;img src=\"http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1399/932068635_655049239a.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"347\" alt=\"Crumbling\"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\n\nPhoto from Loriane DiSabato via Flickr.\n\nFacebook \"friends\"\n\nFacebook friends  are people you have met at some time in your life, and with whom you share a Facebook \"connection.\" Sadly, it is not a real connection but rather an artificial one. There are those friends who never use the site at all. Are you connected if you never hear from one another? And then there are those that share every minute detail of every day. They aren\'t connecting--they are spamming everyone they have met with everything on their minds.  And then there are those who only feel comfortable connecting over Facebook. These people are incapable of picking up the phone or sending a non-Facebook email. Instead, they \"connect\" with you by liking your post or wishing you a happy birthday on your wall.\n\nOn his blog, the 8 pm Warrior, Aaron Briebert said in the post <a href=\"http://8pmwarrior.com/2012/02/warning-social-media-is-killing-real-communication-and-relationships/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Warning: Social Media is Killing Real Communication (and Relationships)\"</a>  that social media is a form of deferred communication, and one that is\n<blockquote>tearing apart traditional relationships.  Especially among young people. As we get overwhelmed by deferred communication, stuff is missed.  Divisions are formed.</blockquote>\nMashable recently published this post: \"<a href=\"http://mashable.com/2012/03/01/social-media-less-connected/\" target=\"_blank\">Is Social Media Actually Making Us Less Connected?\"</a>, in which Professor Sherry Turkle from MIT says that technology is impacting the quality of our relationships.\n<blockquote>One major issue, she [Turkle] said, is that when we text, email or post to a social networking site, we’re able to project ourselves as we want to be seen. “We get to edit, we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch.”\n\nInversely, Turkle notes that a face-to-face conversation “takes place in real time and you can’t control what you’re going to say.”\n\nFurther, with our phones at our constant disposal, Turkle says we’re only paying attention to the things we want to pay attention to. And that leaves us increasingly disconnected from our friends, family and co-workers as we simply turn to our devices when a conversation no longer interests us.</blockquote>\nSocial media is not helping anybody develop social skills, in fact, it seems to be killing social skills. If we have a disagreement with someone, instead of having a difficult conversation, we are unfollowing or unfriending. If we don\'t care for someone, we just hide their posts or block them.  And there are those who expect that because they share everything on Facebook, that you should be aware of it--they say, didn\'t you see that on my Facebook? Like people who announce their relationship changes, promotions, babies or whatever else exclusively through their Facebook status.','What is going on with the social in social media?','','inherit','open','open','','1615-revision-2','','','2012-03-05 15:24:47','2012-03-05 15:24:47','',1615,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1615-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1618,4,'2012-03-06 17:45:59','2012-03-06 17:45:59','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust: the movie</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Sunday night I watched the movie <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1529572/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Trus</span></a>t (starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener), which is about how a teenage girl gets scammed by a pervert online. I won\'t give away all the plot details, but suffice it to say that it is a powerful and sad commentary on the underbelly of the online world, the power of the Internet; teenage angst and desire for acceptance; and parental disconnection. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Weirdly, this movie set the stage for an incident that happened yesterday that has made me think hard about the nature of trust and the online world.</span>\r\n<a title=\"Trust: the catalyst of the open source way by opensourceway, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4749431651/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4115/4749431651_9ef0bfb65b.jpg\" alt=\"Trust: the catalyst of the open source way\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nPhoto by Libby Levi for OpenSource.com via Flickr\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust online</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The nature of online interactions makes it hard to know who you are dealing with. As in the movie Trust, a person can provide  a fake name, or picture or any other details. Unless we know otherwise, we are forced to trust the person is who she or he says she/he is.  This is why some of us limit who we are friends with on Facebook or connect with on LinkedIn. Twitter is a bit trickier. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust can be gained and lost</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This blog and website was built by a virtual assistant/small business web developer whom I found online. I found her through Twitter when I was looking for some VA assistance. Since she had Web and WordPress skills, she fixed a couple of issues on my old website, and then built this website. Along the way, I referred a couple of people to her. <strong>But.</strong> She was a bit hard to get a hold of. She would disappear for days on end and not respond to emails or calls. Getting the project done was painful and slow. However, I was pleased with the end result. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This person also sold me web hosting on HostGator, as she was a reseller. I paid her upfront for a year of hosting. She assured me that I could deal with HostGator directly if I had any issues. Except when I did have an issue, it turned out she wasn\'t telling the truth. Yesterday,  I found I had no email access and my website was down with a page that said \"account suspended.\" I called HostGator immediately, and to make a long story short, I was told that the account holder--the virtual assistant--had not paid her account and that in order to make changes to the account <em>she</em> would have to contact HostGator. Well, I told you she was hard to get a hold of. I called both numbers I had for her (one was disconnected and the other one went to a voice mail that was not accepting messages). I sent email, and I tweeted her repeatedly. She was not to be found. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the end, I was forced set up and pay for a new hosting account, and because I had a password, was able to get HostGator to transfer the files. It was stressful. HostGator has all sorts of rules about reseller accounts about which I had no clue. I was told that my website/email could be down for as long as 48 hours. In the end, it was only a couple of hours.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I learned a lesson the hard way. You can\'t and shouldn\'t trust anybody you don\'t know personally (and even then) completely. In this case, I should have retained control of my web hosting. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To quote Ronald Reagan, \"trust but verify\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is only so much you can do...some people will try to scam you even if you check out references etc. But before you put money on the table, you must do your due diligence and try to verify a person\'s credentials. Also, check in with your gut. Your gut always seems to know.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust and marketing</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">As a marketer, part of your job is to make sure potential customers and clients can and do trust you. Without trust, there can be no business relationship.</span> This is why we include actual addresses, names and phone numbers in our collateral material (including and especially websites). This is why we have customer/client testimonials and provide references.  And this is why third party sites like Yelp and Angie\'s List are doing so well. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust is integral to marketing a business. Without it, you are toast.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Once trust is broken, you are done. I will never do business with the VA business again. And neither will anyone I know. Because of social media, my voice is amplified. She must not truly understand this because 24 hours later, I still haven\'t heard a word. Radio silence in an online world.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\r\n</span>','Trust','','publish','open','open','','trust','','','2012-03-06 17:45:59','2012-03-06 17:45:59','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1618',0,'post','',0),
(1619,4,'2012-03-06 17:44:51','2012-03-06 17:44:51','<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust: the movie</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Sunday night I watched the movie <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1529572/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Trus</span></a>t (starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener), which is about how a teenage girl gets scammed by a pervert online. I won\'t give away all the plot details, but suffice it to say that it is a powerful and sad commentary on the underbelly of the online world, the power of the Internet; teenage angst and desire for acceptance; and parental disconnection. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Weirdly, this movie set the stage for an incident that happened yesterday that has made me think hard about the nature of trust and the online world.</span>\n<a title=\"Trust: the catalyst of the open source way by opensourceway, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4749431651/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4115/4749431651_9ef0bfb65b.jpg\" alt=\"Trust: the catalyst of the open source way\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nPhoto by Libby Levi for OpenSource.com via Flickr\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust online</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The nature of online interactions makes it hard to know who you are dealing with. As in the movie Trust, a person can provide  a fake name, or picture or any other details. Unless we know otherwise, we are forced to trust the person is who she or he says she/he is.  This is why some of us limit who we are friends with on Facebook or connect with on LinkedIn. Twitter is a bit trickier. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust can be gained and lost</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This blog and website was built by a virtual assistant/small business web developer whom I found online. I found her through Twitter when I was looking for some VA assistance. Since she had Web and WordPress skills, she fixed a couple of issues on my old website, and then built this website. Along the way, I referred a couple of people to her. <strong>But.</strong> She was a bit hard to get a hold of. She would disappear for days on end and not respond to emails or calls. Getting the project done was painful and slow. However, I was pleased with the end result. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This person also sold me web hosting on HostGator, as she was a reseller. I paid her upfront for a year of hosting. She assured me that I could deal with HostGator directly if I had any issues. Except when I did have an issue, it turned out she wasn\'t telling the truth. Yesterday,  I found I had no email access and my website was down with a page that said \"account suspended.\" I called HostGator immediately, and to make a long story short, I was told that the account holder--the virtual assistant--had not paid her account and that in order to make changes to the account <em>she</em> would have to contact HostGator. Well, I told you she was hard to get a hold of. I called both numbers I had for her (one was disconnected and the other one went to a voice mail that was not accepting messages). I sent email, and I tweeted her repeatedly. She was not to be found. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the end, I was forced set up and pay for a new hosting account, and because I had a password, was able to get HostGator to transfer the files. It was stressful. HostGator has all sorts of rules about reseller accounts about which I had no clue. I was told that my website/email could be down for as long as 48 hours. In the end, it was only a couple of hours.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I learned a lesson the hard way. You can\'t and shouldn\'t trust anybody you don\'t know personally (and even then) completely. In this case, I should have retained control of my web hosting. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To quote Ronald Reagan, \"trust but verify\"</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is only so much you can do...some people will try to scam you even if you check out references etc. But before you put money on the table, you must do your due diligence and try to verify a person\'s credentials. Also, check in with your gut. Your gut always seems to know.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust and marketing</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">As a marketer, part of your job is to make sure potential customers and clients can and do trust you. Without trust, there can be no business relationship.</span> This is why we include actual addresses, names and phone numbers in our collateral material (including and especially websites). This is why we have customer/client testimonials and provide references.  And this is why third party sites like Yelp and Angie\'s List are doing so well. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trust is integral to marketing a business. Without it, you are toast.</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Once trust is broken, you are done. I will never do business with the VA business again. And neither will anyone I know. Because of social media, my voice is amplified. She must not truly understand this because 24 hours later, I still haven\'t heard a word. Radio silence in an online world.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\n</span>','Trust','','inherit','open','open','','1618-revision','','','2012-03-06 17:44:51','2012-03-06 17:44:51','',1618,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1618-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1634,4,'2012-03-15 15:09:31','2012-03-15 15:09:31','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\"A pig\'s got personality. Personality goes a long way.\"</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">-Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson)</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It seems the folks at Spike TV\'\'s Bar Rescue didn\'t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring\'s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As <a title=\"Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I commented her</span></a>e on the blog, I didn\'t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern\'s owners. T<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bar-rescue-gets-the-boot-in-silver-spring-after-piratz-tavern-renovation-goes-bust/2012/03/14/gIQAu9NpCS_story.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">he Washington Post is reporting today</span></a> that the bar\'s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Washington Post article says this:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">After reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out--its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s all about personality','','publish','open','open','','its-all-about-personality','','','2012-03-15 15:13:24','2012-03-15 15:13:24','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1634',0,'post','',0),
(1622,4,'2012-03-07 19:19:25','2012-03-07 19:19:25','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\'s 9:30 a.m. and I am trying to concentrate on a project when my phone rings. It is a representative from my credit card company.  She is selling some additional service like travel insurance or some such. She is speaking in a monotone, and barely letting me get in a word edgewise. I speak over her and tell her to remove me from the marketing list. She goes away but only after she has interrupted my work and made me lose five minutes listening to her spiel.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\'d bet you have had the exact same thing happen to you. Everyone has. Unsolicited telemarketing calls are the bane of my existence, and worse yet if they are recorded calls (robo-calls). And we get pounded with them--I get at least two or three a day. Luckily, most of us have caller ID and don\'t pick up calls from numbers we don\'t recognize or that are places we don\'t do business with.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">One time, I got a call from a real estate agent who went on and on about \"listings in my area\" and when I asked her what area that was, she referred to a place I hadn\'t even heard of. I told her that she was calling the wrong person, and she had the nerve to be huffy at me.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cold calls just don\'t work. Why?</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because you are quite literally interrupting someone or catching him/her at a time that is inconvenient.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because with caller ID, people can choose to ignore your call.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because these calls are not invited or welcome.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because they are blindly selling something based on broad factors like ZIP codes or business codes.</span></li>\r\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because there are too many variables that must align to make a sale: person answers call, person is receptive to talking, person is interested in the offer.</span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is targeted.</strong> Cold calling by its nature is not targeted. Even if you a home insurance sales person cold calling ten people who just bought a home, you aren\'t really targeting because you don\'t know whether those people already have home insurance.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is customized.</strong> With cold calling, due to volume and your lack of knowledge about the target, you will likely follow a script, which, by its nature is not customized.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is inbound marketing.</strong> Cold calling is outbound marketing at its very worst. It\'s sending out messages to people who don\'t necessarily want or need these messages and hoping that through some margin of return, you will get enough business to justify the expense. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ah yes, I know. You got the biggest client you have through cold calling. I think you were lucky. You called someone at a convenient time, with a message to which he or she was receptive. And you were able to get him or her to actually pick up the phone. Or that person did not have caller ID. Or that person was in a very good mood that day.  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why not put effort into other things that do work and that don\'t leave your prospects cold?</span>\r\n\r\nP.S. Plus of course, fewer and fewer people are using landline telephones these days, and cell phones are not listed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why cold calling doesn\'t work','','publish','open','open','','why-cold-calling-doesnt-work','','','2012-03-07 19:19:25','2012-03-07 19:19:25','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1622',0,'post','',2),
(1623,4,'2012-03-07 19:18:41','2012-03-07 19:18:41','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\'s 9:30 a.m. and I am trying to concentrate on a project when my phone rings. It is a representative from my credit card company.  She is selling some additional service like travel insurance or some such. She is speaking in a monotone, and barely letting me get in a word edgewise. I speak over her and tell her to remove me from the marketing list. She goes away but only after she has interrupted my work and made me lose five minutes listening to her spiel.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\'d bet you have had the exact same thing happen to you. Everyone has. Unsolicited telemarketing calls are the bane of my existence, and worse yet if they are recorded calls (robo-calls). And we get pounded with them--I get at least two or three a day. Luckily, most of us have caller ID and don\'t pick up calls from numbers we don\'t recognize or that are places we don\'t do business with.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">One time, I got a call from a real estate agent who went on and on about \"listings in my area\" and when I asked her what area that was, she referred to a place I hadn\'t even heard of. I told her that she was calling the wrong person, and she had the nerve to be huffy at me.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cold calls just don\'t work. Why?</span>\n<ul>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because you are quite literally interrupting someone or catching him/her at a time that is inconvenient.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because with caller ID, people can choose to ignore your call.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because these calls are not invited or welcome.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because they are blindly selling something based on broad factors like ZIP codes or business codes.</span></li>\n	<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because there are too many variables that must align to make a sale: person answers call, person is receptive to talking, person is interested in the offer.</span></li>\n</ul>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is targeted.</strong> Cold calling by its nature is not targeted. Even if you a home insurance sales person cold calling ten people who just bought a home, you aren\'t really targeting because you don\'t know whether those people already have home insurance.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is customized.</strong> With cold calling, due to volume and your lack of knowledge about the target, you will likely follow a script, which, by its nature is not customized.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The best type of marketing is inbound marketing.</strong> Cold calling is outbound marketing at its very worst. It\'s sending out messages to people who don\'t necessarily want or need these messages and hoping that through some margin of return, you will get enough business to justify the expense. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ah yes, I know. You got the biggest client you have through cold calling. I think you were lucky. You called someone at a convenient time, with a message to which he or she was receptive. And you were able to get him or her to actually pick up the phone. Or that person did not have caller ID. Or that person was in a very good mood that day.  </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why not put effort into other things that do work and that don\'t leave your prospects cold?</span>\n\nP.S. Plus of course, fewer and fewer people are using landline telephones these days, and cell phones are not listed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Why cold calling doesn\'t work','','inherit','open','open','','1622-revision','','','2012-03-07 19:18:41','2012-03-07 19:18:41','',1622,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1622-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1625,4,'2012-03-10 13:21:38','2012-03-10 13:21:38','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are all inundated with messaging from every which way. We get voice mail and texts, email, direct messages, tweets, and even snail mail. Sometimes we just don\'t have time to respond to everything and everyone, but that choice is a communications failure. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week, I told you all about the incident with my website. The woman who was the root cause of this issue has yet to respond to any of the tweets or emails I sent her. Not a single word (and the words I would most like to hear are \"I am sorry\").  No acknowledgment that she messed up and that her screw up affected my business (and not to mention, cost me money).  By not responding, she has made matters worse because now she has increased my anger level and shown me that she just doesn\'t care.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, sometimes people respond because they feel compelled to. Their parents jammed manners into them, and thus, they resent having to answer each and every message. They can become passive-aggressive and they issue responses that don\'t actually respond but put it off telling you they tell you they\'ll get back to you when they are a bit less busy or the Jupiter is in line with Neptune. In a sense, this is not communication but aggression.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sometimes we don\'t respond because we don\'t have an answer. This is still non-communication.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Whether you have a legitimate reason or not, when you fail to respond to someone who is talking directly to you, you are failing to communicate.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: no response','','inherit','open','open','','1624-revision','','','2012-03-10 13:21:38','2012-03-10 13:21:38','',1624,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1624-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1626,4,'2012-03-10 13:23:24','2012-03-10 13:23:24','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are all inundated with messaging from every which way. We get voice mail and texts, email, direct messages, tweets, and even snail mail. Sometimes we just don\'t have time to respond to everything and everyone, but that choice is a communications failure. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This week, I told you all about the incident with my website. The woman who was the root cause of this issue has yet to respond to any of the tweets or emails I sent her. Not a single word (and the words I would most like to hear are \"I am sorry\").  No acknowledgment that she messed up and that her screw up affected my business (and not to mention, cost me money).  By not responding, she has made matters worse because now she has increased my anger level and shown me that she just doesn\'t care.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, sometimes people respond because they feel compelled to. Their parents jammed manners into them, and thus, they resent having to answer each and every message. They can become passive-aggressive and they issue responses that don\'t actually respond but put it off by telling you they tell you they\'ll get back to you when they are a bit less busy or when Jupiter is in line with Neptune. In a sense, this is not communication but aggression.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sometimes we don\'t respond because we don\'t have an answer. This is still non-communication.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Whether you have a legitimate reason or not, when you fail to respond to someone who is talking directly to you, you are failing to communicate.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;','Weekly communications #fail: no response','','inherit','open','open','','1624-autosave','','','2012-03-10 13:23:24','2012-03-10 13:23:24','',1624,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1624-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1627,4,'2012-03-12 13:40:55','2012-03-12 13:40:55','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This past Saturday, I received a 6\"x11\" size postcard, in color (read: higher printing costs) advertising an event taking place on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. I got the expensive postcard one day before an event, and this was for a nonprofit group. You know what this postcard was? <strong>A total waste of money.</strong> I had already heard about the event via social media and enewsletter. I had already decided not to attend.</span>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Time by Thomas Hawk, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4440874971/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4440874971_5fce369d98.jpg\" alt=\"Time\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\r\n\r\nPhoto: Time by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr.\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Why have a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What this organization probably failed to do was a build an accurate marketing timeline. Without a timeline, you will print and mail stuff too late (or too early), send enewsletters too often or not frequently enough, send a press release too far from the event, etc. Marketing takes planning. Planning is essential if you want to get the most for your marketing dollars. In the case above, the postcard was a complete waste of marketing dollars. Very few, if any people, decide to attend an  all-day event (which has a registration fee that is higher at the door) the day before. </span>\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How to build a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You probably will want to either sketch this out on a calendar or use a spreadsheet program to map this out.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Start with the end (your target date) and work backward. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Create a row for each communications vehicle, such as press release, enewsletter, email blast, brochure, etc. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Decide  how many days prior to the target date you want each communications vehicle to reach your audience. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Consider preparation time for each communications vehicle. For example, for printed materials, you have to consider printing times, shipping to you, delivery times (are you using first class mail or bulk) and approval process. Set target dates for each preparation step.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Fill out your timeline.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Remember to give yourself time to plan your marketing timeline! </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your thoughts?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why you must have a marketing timeline','','publish','open','open','','why-you-must-have-a-marketing-timeline','','','2012-03-12 19:52:45','2012-03-12 19:52:45','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1627',0,'post','',0),
(1628,4,'2012-03-12 13:39:09','2012-03-12 13:39:09','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This past Saturday, I received a 6\"x11\" size postcard, in color (read: higher printing costs) advertising an event taking place on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. I got the expensive postcard one day before an event, and this was for a nonprofit group. You know what this postcard was? <strong>A total waste of money.</strong> I had already heard about the event via social media and enewsletter. I had already decided not to attend.</span>\n\n<a title=\"Time by Thomas Hawk, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4440874971/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4440874971_5fce369d98.jpg\" alt=\"Time\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\n\nPhoto: Time by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr.\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Why have a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What this organization probably failed to do was a build an accurate marketing timeline. Without a timeline, you will print and mail stuff too late (or too early), send enewsletters too often or not frequently enough, send a press release too far from the event, etc. Marketing takes planning. Planning is essential if you want to get the most for your marketing dollars. In the case above, the postcard was a complete waste of marketing dollars. Very few, if any people, decide to attend an  all-day event (which has a registration fee that is higher at the door) the day before. </span>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How to build a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You probably will want to either sketch this out on a calendar or use a spreadsheet program to map this out.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Start with the end (your target date) and  have to work backward. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Create a row for each communications vehicle, such as press release, enewsletter, email blast, brochure, etc. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Decide  how many days prior to the target date do you want each communications vehicle to reach your audience. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Consider preparation time for each communications vehicle. For example, for printed materials, you have to consider printing times, shipping to you, delivery times (are you using first class mail or bulk) and approval process. Set target dates for each preparation step.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Fill out your timeline.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Remember to give yourself time to plan your marketing timeline! </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your thoughts?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Why you must have a marketing timeline','','inherit','open','open','','1627-revision','','','2012-03-12 13:39:09','2012-03-12 13:39:09','',1627,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1627-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1629,4,'2012-03-12 13:39:33','2012-03-12 13:39:33','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This past Saturday, I received a 6\"x11\" size postcard, in color (read: higher printing costs) advertising an event taking place on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. I got the expensive postcard one day before an event, and this was for a nonprofit group. You know what this postcard was? <strong>A total waste of money.</strong> I had already heard about the event via social media and enewsletter. I had already decided not to attend.</span>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Time by Thomas Hawk, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4440874971/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4440874971_5fce369d98.jpg\" alt=\"Time\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\r\n\r\nPhoto: Time by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr.\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Why have a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What this organization probably failed to do was a build an accurate marketing timeline. Without a timeline, you will print and mail stuff too late (or too early), send enewsletters too often or not frequently enough, send a press release too far from the event, etc. Marketing takes planning. Planning is essential if you want to get the most for your marketing dollars. In the case above, the postcard was a complete waste of marketing dollars. Very few, if any people, decide to attend an  all-day event (which has a registration fee that is higher at the door) the day before. </span>\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How to build a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You probably will want to either sketch this out on a calendar or use a spreadsheet program to map this out.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Start with the end (your target date) and  have to work backward. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Create a row for each communications vehicle, such as press release, enewsletter, email blast, brochure, etc. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Decide  how many days prior to the target date do you want each communications vehicle to reach your audience. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Consider preparation time for each communications vehicle. For example, for printed materials, you have to consider printing times, shipping to you, delivery times (are you using first class mail or bulk) and approval process. Set target dates for each preparation step.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Fill out your timeline.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Remember to give yourself time to plan your marketing timeline! </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your thoughts?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why you must have a marketing timeline','','inherit','open','open','','1627-revision-2','','','2012-03-12 13:39:33','2012-03-12 13:39:33','',1627,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1627-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1630,4,'2012-03-12 13:40:55','2012-03-12 13:40:55','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This past Saturday, I received a 6\"x11\" size postcard, in color (read: higher printing costs) advertising an event taking place on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. I got the expensive postcard one day before an event, and this was for a nonprofit group. You know what this postcard was? <strong>A total waste of money.</strong> I had already heard about the event via social media and enewsletter. I had already decided not to attend.</span>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Time by Thomas Hawk, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4440874971/\"><img src=\"http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4440874971_5fce369d98.jpg\" alt=\"Time\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\r\n\r\nPhoto: Time by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr.\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Why have a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What this organization probably failed to do was a build an accurate marketing timeline. Without a timeline, you will print and mail stuff too late (or too early), send enewsletters too often or not frequently enough, send a press release too far from the event, etc. Marketing takes planning. Planning is essential if you want to get the most for your marketing dollars. In the case above, the postcard was a complete waste of marketing dollars. Very few, if any people, decide to attend an  all-day event (which has a registration fee that is higher at the door) the day before. </span>\r\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How to build a marketing timeline</strong></span></h1>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You probably will want to either sketch this out on a calendar or use a spreadsheet program to map this out.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. Start with the end (your target date) and  have to work backward. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. Create a row for each communications vehicle, such as press release, enewsletter, email blast, brochure, etc. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. Decide  how many days prior to the target date do you want each communications vehicle to reach your audience. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. Consider preparation time for each communications vehicle. For example, for printed materials, you have to consider printing times, shipping to you, delivery times (are you using first class mail or bulk) and approval process. Set target dates for each preparation step.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. Fill out your timeline.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Remember to give yourself time to plan your marketing timeline! </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your thoughts?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Why you must have a marketing timeline','','inherit','open','open','','1627-revision-3','','','2012-03-12 13:40:55','2012-03-12 13:40:55','',1627,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1627-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1632,4,'2012-03-14 19:56:13','2012-03-14 19:56:13','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here it is, mid-March (Pi Day today because it is 3.14) and I haven\'t been to a single networking event this year. Not a one. I did got to a panel presentation yesterday, but that wasn\'t a networking event. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now, I believe in networking and in networking events. It\'s important to meet people in person, and form relationships. It\'s good to get out. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">So the question is not whether to network but where and how.</span></strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here are some factors in deciding:</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Who is going.</strong> Is there a good chance that you will meet prospective clients, or good resources or just fun people? Is it going to be lots of people you already know? Will it give you a chance to reconnect? You should have a goal in mind when networking. If not, you are just attending an event.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Where and when is it</strong>. Is it convenient to attend this event? Will there be parking if I have to drive or is it near a Metro stop? How long will it take to get there? Is it at the crack of dawn or in the evening?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Cost.</strong> Some events are free and those you can decide on based on the two factors above, but some events are costly. For example, I got an event invitation for something that is $49. And it is a breakfast presentation. To me, that is a lot of $$. Will the cost cover anything other than networking--a presentation or a meal? There\'s one group I know that gives a percentage of the cost to charity, so there is a feel-good/do-good aspect to paying.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Plenty of notice/time to RSVP.</strong> Sometimes you don\'t have enough notice (as I am writing this I got an invitation for something tomorrow night--sorry, I already committed to something else). Sometimes you have to RSVP far in advance. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What are your reasons to attend or not attend an event? I would love to hear what makes it or breaks it for you in the comments.</span>','To network or not to network, that is a question','','publish','open','open','','to-network-or-not-to-network-that-is-a-question','','','2012-03-14 19:56:13','2012-03-14 19:56:13','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1632',0,'post','',0),
(1633,4,'2012-03-14 19:55:45','2012-03-14 19:55:45','Here it is, mid-March (Pi Day today because it is 3.14) and I haven\'t been to a single networking event this year. Not a one. I did got to a panel presentation yesterday, but that wasn\'t a networking event.\n\nNow, I believe in networking and in networking events. It\'s important to meet people in person, and form relationships. It\'s good to get out. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">So the question is not whether to network but where and how.</span></strong>\n\nHere are some factors in deciding:\n\n<strong>Who is going.</strong> Is there a good chance that you will meet prospective clients, or good resources or just fun people? Is it going to be lots of people you already know? Will it give you a chance to reconnect? You should have a goal in mind when networking. If not, you are just attending an event.\n\n<strong>Where and when is it</strong>. Is it convenient to attend this event? Will there be parking if I have to drive or is it near a Metro stop? How long will it take to get there? Is it at the crack of dawn or in the evening?\n\n<strong>Cost.</strong> Some events are free and those you can decide on based on the two factors above, but some events are costly. For example, I got an event invitation for something that is $49. And it is a breakfast presentation. To me, that is a lot of $$. Will the cost cover anything other than networking--a presentation or a meal? There\'s one group I know that gives a percentage of the cost to charity, so there is a feel-good/do-good aspect to paying.\n\n<strong>Plenty of notice/time to RSVP.</strong> Sometimes you don\'t have enough notice (as I am writing this I got an invitation for something tomorrow night--sorry, I already committed to something else). Sometimes you have to RSVP far in advance.\n\nWhat are your reasons to attend or not attend an event? I would love to hear what makes it or breaks it for you in the comment','To network or not to network, that is a question','','inherit','open','open','','1632-revision','','','2012-03-14 19:55:45','2012-03-14 19:55:45','',1632,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1632-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1635,4,'2012-03-15 15:09:00','2012-03-15 15:09:00','One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:\n<blockquote>\"A pig\'s got personality. Personality goes a long way.\"\n\n---Jules Winnfeld (played by Samuel L. Jackson)</blockquote>\nIt seems the folks at Spike TV\'\'s Bar Rescue didn\'t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring\'s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As <a title=\"Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz/\" target=\"_blank\">I commented her</a>e on the blog, I didn\'t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern\'s owners. T<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bar-rescue-gets-the-boot-in-silver-spring-after-piratz-tavern-renovation-goes-bust/2012/03/14/gIQAu9NpCS_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">he Washington Post is reporting today</a> that the bar\'s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.\n\nThe Washington Post article says this:\n<blockquote>The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.</blockquote>\nAfter reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out--its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s all about personality','','inherit','open','open','','1634-revision','','','2012-03-15 15:09:00','2012-03-15 15:09:00','',1634,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1634-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1636,4,'2012-03-15 15:09:31','2012-03-15 15:09:31','One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:\r\n<blockquote>\"A pig\'s got personality. Personality goes a long way.\"\r\n\r\n---Jules Winnfeld (played by Samuel L. Jackson)</blockquote>\r\nIt seems the folks at Spike TV\'\'s Bar Rescue didn\'t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring\'s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As <a title=\"Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz/\" target=\"_blank\">I commented her</a>e on the blog, I didn\'t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern\'s owners. T<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bar-rescue-gets-the-boot-in-silver-spring-after-piratz-tavern-renovation-goes-bust/2012/03/14/gIQAu9NpCS_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">he Washington Post is reporting today</a> that the bar\'s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.\r\n\r\nThe Washington Post article says this:\r\n<blockquote>The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.</blockquote>\r\nAfter reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out--its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s all about personality','','inherit','open','open','','1634-revision-2','','','2012-03-15 15:09:31','2012-03-15 15:09:31','',1634,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1634-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1637,4,'2012-03-15 15:12:29','2012-03-15 15:12:29','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\"A pig\'s got personality. Personality goes a long way.\"</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">---Jules Winnfeld (played by Samuel L. Jackson)</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It seems the folks at Spike TV\'\'s Bar Rescue didn\'t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring\'s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As <a title=\"Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I commented her</span></a>e on the blog, I didn\'t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern\'s owners. T<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bar-rescue-gets-the-boot-in-silver-spring-after-piratz-tavern-renovation-goes-bust/2012/03/14/gIQAu9NpCS_story.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">he Washington Post is reporting today</span></a> that the bar\'s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Washington Post article says this:</span>\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.</span></blockquote>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">After reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out--its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s all about personality','','inherit','open','open','','1634-revision-3','','','2012-03-15 15:12:29','2012-03-15 15:12:29','',1634,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1634-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1638,4,'2012-03-15 15:15:01','2012-03-15 15:15:01','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:</span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\"A pig\'s got personality. Personality goes a long way.\"</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">-Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson)</span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It seems the folks at Spike TV\'\'s Bar Rescue didn\'t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring\'s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As <a title=\"Piratz, burgers and lost pizzazz\" href=\"http://deborahbrody.com/2012/02/piratz-burgers-and-lost-pizzazz/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I commented her</span></a>e on the blog, I didn\'t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern\'s owners. T<a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bar-rescue-gets-the-boot-in-silver-spring-after-piratz-tavern-renovation-goes-bust/2012/03/14/gIQAu9NpCS_story.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">he Washington Post is reporting today</span></a> that the bar\'s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Washington Post article says this:</span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.</span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">After reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out--its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.</span>\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s all about personality','','inherit','open','open','','1634-autosave','','','2012-03-15 15:15:01','2012-03-15 15:15:01','',1634,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1634-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1648,4,'2012-03-28 17:22:42','0000-00-00 00:00:00','Most Americans only speak one language: English. Most Europeans speak multiple languages (native and English at a minimum). Why is this relevant to communications? Simple answer is that in order to communicate EFFECTIVELY with your audience, you must speak their language.\n\nLanguage, in terms of marketing, is not just the','How many languages do you speak?','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-03-28 17:22:42','2012-03-28 17:22:42','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1648',0,'post','',0),
(1640,4,'2012-03-21 15:59:04','0000-00-00 00:00:00','We seem to live in a hyped-up world.  Because of social media and its amplifying effect, and the fact that traditional mass media has glommed on to social, what trends on Twitter is everywhere.\r\n\r\nAn interesting case in point is the Kony 2012 story. A video about a Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, produced by the nonprofit Invisible Children, sought to promote Kony\'s arrest. The video went viral, it was featured on broadcast news and thousands tweeted about it. (As an aside, wWeirdly for a nonprofit, Invisible Children has a .com URL) However, <a href=\"http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/54-2164338/invisible-children.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Guidestar does confirm it is a properly registered nonprofit</a> and Charity Navigator gives it a four star rating.\r\n\r\nOne of Invisible Children\'s founders, Jason Russell, who also directed the video, was arrested for lewd behavior a few days ago. His wife claims he had a breakdown due to the tremendous publicity the video received. I','Beware of hype','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-03-21 15:59:04','2012-03-21 15:59:04','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1640',0,'post','',0),
(1641,4,'2012-03-21 15:57:19','2012-03-21 15:57:19','We seem to live in a hyped-up world.  Because of social media and its amplifying effect, and the fact that traditional mass media has glommed on to social, what trends on Twitter is everywhere.\n\nAn interesting case in point is the Kony 2012 story. A video about a Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, produced by the nonprofit Invisible Children, sought to promote Kony\'s arrest. The video went viral, it was featured on broadcast news and thousands tweeted about it. (As an aside, wWeirdly for a nonprofit, Invisible Children has a .com URL) However, <a href=\"http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/54-2164338/invisible-children.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Guidestar does confirm it is a properly registered nonprofit</a> and Charity Navigator gives it a four star rating.\n\nOne of Invisible Children\'s founders, Jason Russell, who also directed the video, was arrested for lewd behavior a few days ago. His wife claims he had a breakdown due to the tremendous publicity the video received. I','Beware of hype','','inherit','open','open','','1640-revision','','','2012-03-21 15:57:19','2012-03-21 15:57:19','',1640,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1640-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1643,4,'2012-03-23 12:40:25','2012-03-23 12:40:25','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is a physics term, which means that speed or forward motion of an object is equal to mass times velocity. In everyday usage, momentum is the strength or speed gained by motion or a series of events (<a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/momentum\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">here is Merriam-Webster\'s</span></a> definition).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is good for marketing--it helps you build up steam and propels you forward (gets you new business, more readers, bigger audience, etc).  But if when things are starting to speed up,  you apply the brakes, you (like your car) will quite literally slow down (lose momentum). </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Losing momentum is a marketing killer.</strong> </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">How do you lose momentum? There are many \"brakes.\" Here are few examples:</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not returning inquiry calls:</strong> If I call you for information, I am what they call a warm prospect. By not calling me back, you are losing me. By taking your sweet time to return said calls, you also lose momentum.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not following up</strong>:  In mid-December I attended the inaugural event for a new DC networking group. It sounded good and I provided my email, saying I would be happy to help organize an event. I haven\'t heard ONE word from them. They haven\'t held another event. They lost momentum.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Changing your terms suddenly (dashing expectations):</strong> Say you always get bread served at your favorite restaurant, and suddenly, the restaurant decides to cut costs and there goes the bread basket. It may have been what you enjoyed about the place, and now your expectations are dashed. You may not return.</span>\n\nNot blogging (or Tweeting or posting on Facebook) for months: You started your blog, and you had lots to say. And then you stopped posting. Any readership (or followers\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Whenever you do something that slows down your interaction with a prospective customer or client, you are losing momentum. That is a marketing/communications failure.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you experienced lost marketing momentum? Please give me your examples in the comments.</span>','Weekly communications #fail: losing momentum','','inherit','open','open','','1642-revision','','','2012-03-23 12:40:25','2012-03-23 12:40:25','',1642,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1642-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1644,4,'2012-03-23 13:16:46','2012-03-23 13:16:46','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is a physics term, which means that speed or forward motion of an object is equal to mass times velocity. In everyday usage, momentum is the strength or speed gained by motion or a series of events (<a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/momentum\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">here is Merriam-Webster\'s</span></a> definition).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Momentum is good for marketing--it helps you build up steam and propels you forward (gets you new business, more readers, bigger audience, etc).  But if when things are starting to speed up,  you apply the brakes, you (like your car) will quite literally slow down (lose momentum). </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Losing momentum is a marketing killer.</strong> </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">How do you lose momentum? There are many \"brakes.\" Here are few examples:</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not returning inquiry calls:</strong> If I call you for information, I am what they call a warm prospect. By not calling me back, you are losing me. By taking your sweet time to return said calls, you also lose momentum.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Not following up</strong>:  In mid-December I attended the inaugural event for a new DC networking group. It sounded good and I provided my email, saying I would be happy to help organize an event. I haven\'t heard ONE word from them. They haven\'t held another event. They lost momentum.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Changing your terms suddenly (dashing expectations):</strong> Say you always get bread served at your favorite restaurant, and suddenly, the restaurant decides to cut costs and there goes the bread basket. It may have been what you enjoyed about the place, and now your expectations are dashed. You may not return.</span>\n\n<strong>Not blogging (or Tweeting or posting on Facebook) for months:</strong> You started your blog, and you had lots to say. And then you stopped posting. Any readership (or followers) you had, will dwindle. You lost momentum.\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Whenever you do something that slows down your interaction with a prospective customer or client, you are losing momentum. That is a marketing/communications failure.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you experienced lost marketing momentum? Please give me your examples in the comments.</span>','Weekly communications #fail: losing momentum','','inherit','open','open','','1642-autosave','','','2012-03-23 13:16:46','2012-03-23 13:16:46','',1642,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1642-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1645,4,'2012-03-26 13:39:41','2012-03-26 13:39:41','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just this morning, I have seen all three of these mistakes, and by prominent websites/social media marketers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 1: Not having links open in a new page/tab</strong>. Why is this a mistake? Because you are practically pushing people OFF your website and on to another. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 2: Poor social sharing tools (or worse, not having them).</strong> Poor social sharing tools are those that don\'t provide the title of the post, or the blog, or the author. The example I came across this morning gave me this when I clicked to share on Twitter: Currently reading [URL address]). How is this sharing helpful to anyone?  You have to provide a reason for people to read your Tweet. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 3: Not checking @ mentions on Twitter.</strong> Someone is trying to communicate directly with you--is it wise to ignore him/her?  Big companies with customer service problems would do well to check their @ mentions. This is easier done with a Twitter client like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck that automatically puts @ mentions in their own column. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Are these your top three mistakes? What would you add or subtract?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','3 Social Media/Web Marketing Mistakes to Avoid','','publish','open','open','','3-social-mediaweb-marketing-mistakes-to-avoid','','','2012-03-26 13:39:41','2012-03-26 13:39:41','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1645',0,'post','',0),
(1646,4,'2012-03-26 13:39:21','2012-03-26 13:39:21','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just this morning, I have seen all three of these mistakes, and by prominent websites/social media marketers. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 1: Not having links open in a new page/tab</strong>. Why is this a mistake? Because you are practically pushing people OFF your website and on to another. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 2: Poor social sharing tools (or worse, not having them).</strong> Poor social sharing tools are those that don\'t provide the title of the post, or the blog, or the author. The example I came across this morning gave me this when I clicked to share on Twitter: Currently reading [URL address]). How is this sharing helpful to anyone?  You have to provide a reason for people to read your Tweet. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 3: Not checking @ mentions on Twitter.</strong> Someone is trying to communicate directly with you--is it wise to ignore him/her?  Big companies with customer service problems would do well to check their @ mentions. This is easier done with a Twitter client like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck that automatically puts @ mentions in their own column. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Are these your top three mistakes? What would you add or subtract?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','3 Social Media/Web Marketing Mistakes to Avoid','','inherit','open','open','','1645-revision','','','2012-03-26 13:39:21','2012-03-26 13:39:21','',1645,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1645-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1647,4,'2012-03-26 13:40:47','2012-03-26 13:40:47','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just this morning, I have seen all three of these mistakes, and by prominent websites/social media marketers. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 1: Not having links open in a new page/tab</strong>. Why is this a mistake? Because you are practically pushing people OFF your website and on to another. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 2: Poor social sharing tools (or worse, not having them).</strong> Poor social sharing tools are those that don\'t provide the title of the post, or the blog, or the author. The example I came across this morning gave me this when I clicked to share on Twitter: Currently reading [URL address]). How is this sharing helpful to anyone?  You have to provide a reason for people to read your Tweet. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Number 3: Not checking @ mentions on Twitter.</strong> Someone is trying to communicate directly with you--is it wise to ignore him/her?  Big companies with customer service problems would do well to check their @ mentions. This is easier done with a Twitter client like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck that automatically puts @ mentions in their own column. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Are these your top three mistakes? What would you add or subtract?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','3 Social Media/Web Marketing Mistakes to Avoid','','inherit','open','open','','1645-autosave','','','2012-03-26 13:40:47','2012-03-26 13:40:47','',1645,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1645-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1649,4,'2012-03-28 17:19:16','2012-03-28 17:19:16','Most Americans only speak one language: English. Most Europeans speak multiple languages (native and English at a minimum). Why is this relevant to communications? Simple answer is that in order to communicate EFFECTIVELY with your audience, you must speak their language.\n\nLanguage, in terms of marketing, is not just the','How many languages do you speak?','','inherit','open','open','','1648-revision','','','2012-03-28 17:19:16','2012-03-28 17:19:16','',1648,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1648-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1650,4,'2012-03-29 20:54:00','2012-03-29 20:54:00','T<span style=\"color: #000000;\">here is a women\'s networking group here in Maryland that offers some nice events every couple of months. For April, they had been touting a well known health expert as the speaker to their event. This speaker was a huge draw. Yesterday, I decided to register. When I went to event page, lo and behold, the speaker is not listed. Instead, there is a panel of speakers (none of them \"famous\") who will discuss health issues.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Is this a bait and switch? Did the speaker bow out due to an unforeseen circumstance? Why the change in speakers? </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have no answer because this group has not addressed it. Instead, they proceed as if nothing has changed. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">They are making an assumption that people will want to attend the event regardless. They are making an assumption that you will get it. They are making an assumption that they don\'t have to provide an explanation.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Don\'t make assumptions! Be transparent. Be clear</strong>. All that needed to be said in this case was: We had scheduled speaker x for this event, but due to (reason) she is no longer available. Instead, we are presenting a fabulous panel....</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This type of thing is what irritates people and turns them off. Say you signed up a month ago expecting the original speaker. You get to the event and she is not there. Don\'t you feel ripped off? Disappointed? Or maybe you are just uninterested in the panel. </span>\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don\'t assume your audience will follow you if you don\'t explain. Be transparent. Be honest. Be upfront.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rant over.</span>','Being transparent (or, not making assumptions)','','publish','open','open','','being-transparent-or-not-making-assumptions','','','2012-03-29 20:54:00','2012-03-29 20:54:00','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1650',0,'post','',0),
(1671,4,'2012-04-18 15:16:00','2012-04-18 15:16:00','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The single worst mistake you can make in communications is not living up to your promise (s). Why? It breaks trust. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sadly, we see it all the time from big companies and small. Like when a wireless carrier tells you that you will have unlimited data, only to cap you after a certain amount. Or when an airline advertises a low price on a fare only to reference some small print saying it is available only at midnight of the day that Jupiter lines up with Mars.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you continually break promises you create a cynical customer. He or she no longer trusts what you say, and takes what you say with a grain of salt. Cynical customers are not loyal customers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It goes beyond false advertising though. In business and personal communication, you also can run the risk of losing trust. If you tell your friend you will be at her birthday party and then don\'t show up. If you promise your client that you will send a document and then you don\'t.  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\'ve all heard that the most common lie is \"the check\'s in the mail.\" How many times can you tell someone payment is forthcoming and the check is not there?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you as a business or you as an individual fail to live up to your promises, you are helping create a culture of mistrust, cynicism and disappointment. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you agree? Is there something worse than making your customers/friends distrust/mistrust you or your business?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The single worst communications mistake','','publish','open','open','','the-single-worst-communications-mistake','','','2012-04-18 15:16:00','2012-04-18 15:16:00','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1671',0,'post','',0),
(1652,4,'2012-03-29 20:53:48','2012-03-29 20:53:48','T<span style=\"color: #000000;\">here is a women\'s networking group here in Maryland that offers some nice events every couple of months. For April, they had been touting a well known health expert as the speaker to their event. This speaker was a huge draw. Yesterday, I decided to register. When I went to event page, lo and behold, the speaker is not listed. Instead, there is a panel of speakers (none of them \"famous\") who will discuss health issues.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Is this a bait and switch? Did the speaker bow out due to an unforeseen circumstance? Why the change in speakers? </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have no answer because this group has not addressed it. Instead, they proceed as if nothing has changed. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">They are making an assumption that people will want to attend the event regardless. They are making an assumption that you will get it. They are making an assumption that they don\'t have to provide an explanation.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Don\'t make assumptions! Be transparent. Be clear</strong>. All that needed to be said in this case was: We had scheduled speaker x for this event, but due to (reason) she is no longer available. Instead, we are presenting a fabulous panel....</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This type of thing is what irritates people and turns them off. Say you signed up a month ago expecting the original speaker. You get to the event and she is not there. Don\'t you feel ripped off? Disappointed? Or maybe you are just uninterested in the panel. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don\'t assume your audience will follow you if you don\'t explain. Be transparent. Be honest. Be upfront.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rant over.</span>','Being transparent (or, not making assumptions)','','inherit','open','open','','1650-revision','','','2012-03-29 20:53:48','2012-03-29 20:53:48','',1650,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/03/1650-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1653,4,'2012-04-02 14:43:33','2012-04-02 14:43:33','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have been thinking a lot about loyalty and whether companies value it or not.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Take for  example, my customer relationship with ATT Wireless. I have been a customer for several years now (although not by choice rather by the acquisition of my old carrier Cingular). I called customer service the other day to see if they would credit several spam texts I received (I don\'\'t have unlimited text and pay 20 cents per message). The agent placed me on a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ten  minute hold</span> \"to check my account\" and later informed that it was not company policy to do so, but she would credit 40 cents to my account. Now, mind you, I had a similar conversation with another agent last year, and there was no problem crediting my account. No need to review. No lengthy process. I asked the agent if she was really giving me a hard time over 40 cents when I had been a customer for so many years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This interaction seems to prove that ATT is not particularly concerned with customer loyalty. They would rather talk \"company policy\" to me than think about rewarding my patronage, which over the years is in the several $1000s.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have been at my gym for several years. Has it ever given me anything to show appreciation for staying with it? NEW members get perks (free personal training or a t-shirt or whatever) but what do OLD members get? NOTHING. How does this reinforce customer loyalty?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yet, everywhere you turn there are loyalty programs. From the local bakery, where 12 stamps will result in one free loaf of bread to the pharmacy where you swipe your card to get \"reward dollars\" after you\'ve spent a certain amount.  Some of these loyalty programs do reward a loyal customer with something tangible and some are meant as a database mining operation. Guess which is which.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Large companies, especially financial institutions, seem to take customer loyalty for granted. Either that, or they simply don\'t care if customers are loyal. If you have been at your bank for more than five years, are you getting anything? A better interest rate? A free safety deposit box?  I bet the answer is no, you aren\'t getting a single cent. Yet, some banks will reward new customers by giving them a cash bonus deposited to their new accounts.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Customer loyalty is an area that marketing communications can\'t fix by itself. It needs operations/institutional support. However, as a marketer, you need to be concerned about it. <strong>You can attract all sorts of new business with good communications efforts, but can you retain it?</strong> Are you doing something to reward \"old\" business?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you aren\'t thinking about customer loyalty and what you are doing to maintain it and reward it, they you are probably losing customers at this very moment.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are you rewarding loyalty?','','publish','open','open','','are-you-rewarding-loyalty','','','2012-04-02 14:43:52','2012-04-02 14:43:52','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1653',0,'post','',0),
(1654,4,'2012-04-02 14:19:16','2012-04-02 14:19:16','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','1653-revision','','','2012-04-02 14:19:16','2012-04-02 14:19:16','',1653,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1653-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1655,4,'2012-04-02 14:42:43','2012-04-02 14:42:43','I have been thinking a lot about loyalty and whether companies value it or not.\n\nTake for  example, my customer relationship with ATT Wireless. I have been a customer for several years now (although not by choice rather by the acquisition of my old carrier Cingular). I called customer service the other day to see if they would credit several spam texts I received (I don\'\'t have unlimited text and pay 20 cents per message). The agent placed me on a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ten  minute hold</span> \"to check my account\" and later informed that it was not company policy to do so, but she would credit 40 cents to my account. Now, mind you, I had a similar conversation with another agent last year, and there was no problem crediting my account. No need to review. No lengthy process. I asked the agent if she was really giving me a hard time over 40 cents when I had been a customer for so many years.\n\nThis interaction seems to prove that ATT is not particularly concerned with customer loyalty. They would rather talk \"company policy\" to me than think about rewarding my patronage, which over the years is in the several $1000s.\n\nI have been at my gym for several years. Has it ever given me anything to show appreciation for staying with it? NEW members get perks (free personal training or a t-shirt or whatever) but what do OLD members get? NOTHING. How does this reinforce customer loyalty?\n\nYet, everywhere you turn there are loyalty programs. From the local bakery, where 12 stamps will result in one free loaf of bread to the pharmacy where you swipe your card to get \"reward dollars\" after you\'ve spent a certain amount.  Some of these loyalty programs do reward a loyal customer with something tangible and some are meant as a database mining operation. Guess which is which.\n\nLarge companies, especially financial institutions, seem to take customer loyalty for granted. Either that, or they simply don\'t care if customers are loyal. If you have been at your bank for more than five years, are you getting anything? A better interest rate? A free safety deposit box?  I bet the answer is no, you aren\'t getting a single cent. Yet, some banks will reward new customers by giving them a cash bonus deposited to their new accounts.\n\nCustomer loyalty is an area that marketing communications can\'t fix by itself. It needs operations/institutional support. However, as a marketer, you need to be concerned about it. You can attract all sorts of new business with good communications efforts, but can you retain it? Are you doing something to reward \"old\" business?\n\nIf you aren\'t thinking about customer loyalty and what you are doing to maintain it and reward it, they you are probably losing customers at this very moment.\n\n&nbsp;','Are you rewarding loyalty?','','inherit','open','open','','1653-revision-2','','','2012-04-02 14:42:43','2012-04-02 14:42:43','',1653,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1653-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),
(1656,4,'2012-04-02 14:43:33','2012-04-02 14:43:33','I have been thinking a lot about loyalty and whether companies value it or not.\r\n\r\nTake for  example, my customer relationship with ATT Wireless. I have been a customer for several years now (although not by choice rather by the acquisition of my old carrier Cingular). I called customer service the other day to see if they would credit several spam texts I received (I don\'\'t have unlimited text and pay 20 cents per message). The agent placed me on a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ten  minute hold</span> \"to check my account\" and later informed that it was not company policy to do so, but she would credit 40 cents to my account. Now, mind you, I had a similar conversation with another agent last year, and there was no problem crediting my account. No need to review. No lengthy process. I asked the agent if she was really giving me a hard time over 40 cents when I had been a customer for so many years.\r\n\r\nThis interaction seems to prove that ATT is not particularly concerned with customer loyalty. They would rather talk \"company policy\" to me than think about rewarding my patronage, which over the years is in the several $1000s.\r\n\r\nI have been at my gym for several years. Has it ever given me anything to show appreciation for staying with it? NEW members get perks (free personal training or a t-shirt or whatever) but what do OLD members get? NOTHING. How does this reinforce customer loyalty?\r\n\r\nYet, everywhere you turn there are loyalty programs. From the local bakery, where 12 stamps will result in one free loaf of bread to the pharmacy where you swipe your card to get \"reward dollars\" after you\'ve spent a certain amount.  Some of these loyalty programs do reward a loyal customer with something tangible and some are meant as a database mining operation. Guess which is which.\r\n\r\nLarge companies, especially financial institutions, seem to take customer loyalty for granted. Either that, or they simply don\'t care if customers are loyal. If you have been at your bank for more than five years, are you getting anything? A better interest rate? A free safety deposit box?  I bet the answer is no, you aren\'t getting a single cent. Yet, some banks will reward new customers by giving them a cash bonus deposited to their new accounts.\r\n\r\nCustomer loyalty is an area that marketing communications can\'t fix by itself. It needs operations/institutional support. However, as a marketer, you need to be concerned about it. <strong>You can attract all sorts of new business with good communications efforts, but can you retain it?</strong> Are you doing something to reward \"old\" business?\r\n\r\nIf you aren\'t thinking about customer loyalty and what you are doing to maintain it and reward it, they you are probably losing customers at this very moment.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Are you rewarding loyalty?','','inherit','open','open','','1653-revision-3','','','2012-04-02 14:43:33','2012-04-02 14:43:33','',1653,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1653-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),
(1665,4,'2012-04-12 20:09:37','2012-04-12 20:09:37','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is almost over for those of us who celebrate it. The eight-day-long Jewish holiday celebrates liberation from slavery in Egypt. For most people, the main observance of the holiday is abstaining from eating bread and other leavened products (because the Israelites fleeing Egypt did not have enough time to allow their bread to rise), and substituting matza instead.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can Passover inform any marketing communications decisions? I think it can. Here are four Passover lessons for you marcomm efforts:</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>One: Freedom rules!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is a festival that celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. In marketing and communications, we also celebrate freedom. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">We don\'t want to be tied to one platform, one way of thinking, solutions that no longer work.</span> Celebrate and use your freedom!</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Two: Change is good</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">During passover, we eat matza for eight days, and don\'t eat bread, pasta, etc. It is a change for most people, a pause, a reset. It <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">challenges your routine,</span> forces your creativity. When you do things differently for a short time, you may discover what works and what doesn\'t.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Three: Dress it up a bit</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In my opinion, matza is infinitely better when spread with cream cheese or jelly (or both). Plain is just OK. In other words,<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> some bells and whistles help</span>. For example, having a well designed, attractive website can give your business an edge over a dull, plain website.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Four: Friends and family are key</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is a holiday that is better when celebrated with friends and family. In marketing and communications, your “friends and family” are your customers and your promoters. In social media they are your followers and \"likers.\" Your friends and family are the cornerstone of your outreach efforts.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you see any other lessons in Passover?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','4 Passover Lessons for Marketing and Communications','','publish','open','open','','4-passover-lessons-for-marketing-and-communications','','','2012-04-12 20:09:37','2012-04-12 20:09:37','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1665',0,'post','',2),
(1658,4,'2012-04-04 12:56:00','2012-04-04 12:56:00','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever run into a situation where a company has absolutely gorgeous marketing materials, but its service or product is sub par? That\'s a situation where the marketing draws people in, but the product  or service loses them. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I am looking to do some home improvement and I went to Angie\'s List. I found several companies in the category and checked out each company website. I was pretty impressed with one company in particular. Their website was not only attractive, but functional and informative. I called to make an appointment for an estimate. The woman seemed friendly and knowledgeable and set up an appointment that would be confirmed via email. This company seems to be pretty technologically savvy. The appointment was confirmed but a couple of hours later I got an email from a manager saying that he couldn\'t keep that appointment and could we change it. We went back and forth and settled on Tuesday (yesterday) at 6 p.m. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">At 5 p.m. yesterday the estimator called to tell me he can\'t make it and can he come tomorrow. As it turns out, I don\'t have time today, and I figured that if a company can\'t keep an appointment that does not bode well for the process. Further, it is not professional to keep changing appointments and to offer excuses. My time is valuable and if this company wants my business, the estimator would make an effort to show at the appointed time. I told him to forget it. There are other companies that do this work, and so far, two other companies have shown up on time for our estimate appointments. For me, punctuality and reliability are important indicators of how a company performs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this case, this company appears to be competent but in practice is not. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">When your marketing is bad, you may not get the customers you want. But if your marketing is better than you are, your potential customers will not stick with you. They will be drawn in, but you will lose them. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your marketing should be attractive, but if you are spending more money and time on marketing and less on your service or product, that marketing dollar is wasted. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thoughts?</span>','Is your marketing communication better than you?','','publish','open','open','','is-your-marketing-communication-better-than-you','','','2012-04-04 12:56:00','2012-04-04 12:56:00','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1658',0,'post','',2),
(1659,4,'2012-04-04 12:55:01','2012-04-04 12:55:01','Have you ever run into a situation where a company has absolutely gorgeous marketing materials, but its service or product is sub par? That\'s a situation where the marketing draws people in, but the product  or service loses them.\n\nI am looking to do some home improvement and I went to Angie\'s List. I found several companies in the category and checked out each company website. I was pretty impressed with one company in particular. Their website was not only attractive, but functional and informative. I called to make an appointment for an estimate. The woman seemed friendly and knowledgeable and set up an appointment that would be confirmed via email. This company seems to be pretty technologically savvy. The appointment was confirmed but a couple of hours later I got an email from a manager saying that he couldn\'t keep that appointment and could we change it. We went back and forth and settled on Tuesday (yesterday) at 6 p.m.\n\nAt 5 p.m. yesterday the estimator called to tell me he can\'t make it and can he come tomorrow. As it turns out, I don\'t have time today, and I figured that if a company can\'t keep an appointment that does not bode well for the process. Further, it is not professional to keep changing appointments and to offer excuses. My time is valuable and if this company wants my business, the estimator would make an effort to show at the appointed time. I told him to forget it. There are other companies that do this work, and so far, two other companies have shown up on time for our estimate appointments. For me, punctuality and reliability are important indicators of how a company perfor\n\nIn this case, this company appears to be competent but in practice is not.\n\nWhen your marketing is not good, you may not get the customers you want. But if your marketing is better than you are, your potential customers will not stick with you. They will be drawn in, but you will lose them.\n\nYour marketing should be attractive, but if you are spending more money and time on marketing and less on your service or product, that marketing dollar is wasted.','Is your marketing communication better than you?','','inherit','open','open','','1658-revision','','','2012-04-04 12:55:01','2012-04-04 12:55:01','',1658,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1658-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1660,4,'2012-04-04 12:57:06','2012-04-04 12:57:06','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever run into a situation where a company has absolutely gorgeous marketing materials, but its service or product is sub par? That\'s a situation where the marketing draws people in, but the product  or service loses them. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I am looking to do some home improvement and I went to Angie\'s List. I found several companies in the category and checked out each company website. I was pretty impressed with one company in particular. Their website was not only attractive, but functional and informative. I called to make an appointment for an estimate. The woman seemed friendly and knowledgeable and set up an appointment that would be confirmed via email. This company seems to be pretty technologically savvy. The appointment was confirmed but a couple of hours later I got an email from a manager saying that he couldn\'t keep that appointment and could we change it. We went back and forth and settled on Tuesday (yesterday) at 6 p.m. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">At 5 p.m. yesterday the estimator called to tell me he can\'t make it and can he come tomorrow. As it turns out, I don\'t have time today, and I figured that if a company can\'t keep an appointment that does not bode well for the process. Further, it is not professional to keep changing appointments and to offer excuses. My time is valuable and if this company wants my business, the estimator would make an effort to show at the appointed time. I told him to forget it. There are other companies that do this work, and so far, two other companies have shown up on time for our estimate appointments. For me, punctuality and reliability are important indicators of how a company performs.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this case, this company appears to be competent but in practice is not. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">When your marketing is bad, you may not get the customers you want. But if your marketing is better than you are, your potential customers will not stick with you. They will be drawn in, but you will lose them. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your marketing should be attractive, but if you are spending more money and time on marketing and less on your service or product, that marketing dollar is wasted. </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thoughts?</span>','Is your marketing communication better than you?','','inherit','open','open','','1658-autosave','','','2012-04-04 12:57:06','2012-04-04 12:57:06','',1658,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1658-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1662,4,'2012-04-09 14:48:33','2012-04-09 14:48:33','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lately, I have been seeing lots of articles being written about how important storytelling is, most recently <a href=\"http://www.inc.com/riley-gibson/3-reasons-every-start-up-should-tell-more-stories.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling</span></a> on Inc. Magazine\'s website. This has got me to thinking on whether you can become a better storyteller, or is it something you are born with. Or, does it matter at all if you are good or bad at storytelling if your story is great (or terrible).</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So, is it the story or the storyteller?</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A bit of both in my opinion. A bad storyteller could ruin the best story, but a boring story won\'t get any more exciting if someone tells it really well.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But, can you make the telling of the story better? </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes!</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These are my tips for improving your storytelling ability, while cautioning you that you have to have a good story to start with.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) <strong>Have a point, and don\'t bury it. </strong>Start with the end in mind. Is there anything worse than a pointless story? </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2) <strong>Don\'t get bogged down with all the details</strong>. I had a friend years ago who was the kind of storyteller that would make you look at your watch ten times because she had to relay every single last detail. (Like this: I was walking to the train station in my new blue shoes with tassels, and then I saw the cutest cocker spaniel, and I started talking to the woman who was walking the dog, she was wearing  a jumpsuit that I had seen in a store window.....). </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3) <strong>Realize your audience may not view the story the same way you do.</strong>  You have a specific point of view, but if it is very specific to you and your worldview, it may fall flat with your audience.There are things that are more universal than others, and to resonate, your story has to have some type of \"universal truth.\"</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4) <strong>Adapt to your surroundings</strong>. If you are telling a story to your friends in your living room you may be more informal, whereas if you are telling a story to the board in the corporate headquarters, you may need to be a tad more buttoned up.\r\n</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5)<strong> Use humor, but only if it is not offensive or obtuse.</strong> Have you ever been told a story, and the teller throws in some weird joke you don\'t think is funny? Or worse, you think is offensive (these jokes are usually tired canards about women, or racist stereotypes)?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What would add? And do you think the right storyteller can make up for a bad story? Let me know in the comments.</span>','Is it the story or the storyteller?','','publish','open','open','','is-it-the-story-or-the-storyteller','','','2012-04-09 14:48:33','2012-04-09 14:48:33','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1662',0,'post','',0),
(1663,4,'2012-04-09 14:47:50','2012-04-09 14:47:50','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lately, I have been seeing lots of articles being written about how important storytelling is, most recently <a href=\"http://www.inc.com/riley-gibson/3-reasons-every-start-up-should-tell-more-stories.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling</span></a> on Inc. Magazine\'s website. This has got me to thinking on whether you can become a better storyteller, or is it something you are born with. Or, does it matter at all if you are good or bad at storytelling if your story is great (or terrible).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So, is it the story or the storyteller?</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A bit of both in my opinion. A bad storyteller could ruin the best story, but a boring story won\'t get any more exciting if someone tells it really well.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But, can you make the telling of the story better? </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes!</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These are my tips for improving your storytelling ability, while cautioning you that you have to have a good story to start with.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) <strong>Have a point, and don\'t bury it. </strong>Start with the end in mind. Is there anything worse than a pointless story? </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2) <strong>Don\'t get bogged down with all the details</strong>. I had a friend years ago who was the kind of storyteller that would make you look at your watch ten times because she had to relay every single last detail. (Like this: I was walking to the train station in my new blue shoes with tassels, and then I saw the cutest cocker spaniel, and I started talking to the woman who was walking the dog, she was wearing  a jumpsuit that I had seen in a store window.....). </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3) <strong>Realize your audience may not view the story the same way you do.</strong>  You have a specific point of view, but if it is very specific to you and your worldview, it may fall flat with your audience.There are things that are more universal than others, and to resonate, your story has to have some type of \"universal truth.\"</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4) <strong>Adapt to your surroundings</strong>. If you are telling a story to your friends in your living room you may be more informal, whereas if you are telling a story to the board in the corporate headquarters, you may need to be a tad more formal.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5)<strong> Use humor, but only if it is not offensive or obtuse.</strong> Have you ever been told a story, and the teller throws in some weird joke you don\'t think is funny? Or worse, you think is offensive (these jokes are usually tired canards about women, or racist stereotypes)?</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What would add? And do you think the right storyteller can make up for a bad story? Let me know in the comments.</span>','Is it the story or the storyteller?','','inherit','open','open','','1662-revision','','','2012-04-09 14:47:50','2012-04-09 14:47:50','',1662,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1662-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1664,4,'2012-04-09 14:49:01','2012-04-09 14:49:01','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lately, I have been seeing lots of articles being written about how important storytelling is, most recently <a href=\"http://www.inc.com/riley-gibson/3-reasons-every-start-up-should-tell-more-stories.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling</span></a> on Inc. Magazine\'s website. This has got me to thinking on whether you can become a better storyteller, or is it something you are born with. Or, does it matter at all if you are good or bad at storytelling if your story is great (or terrible).</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So, is it the story or the storyteller?</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A bit of both in my opinion. A bad storyteller could ruin the best story, but a boring story won\'t get any more exciting if someone tells it really well.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But, can you make the telling of the story better? </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes!</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These are my tips for improving your storytelling ability, while cautioning you that you have to have a good story to start with.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) <strong>Have a point, and don\'t bury it. </strong>Start with the end in mind. Is there anything worse than a pointless story? </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2) <strong>Don\'t get bogged down with all the details</strong>. I had a friend years ago who was the kind of storyteller that would make you look at your watch ten times because she had to relay every single last detail. (Like this: I was walking to the train station in my new blue shoes with tassels, and then I saw the cutest cocker spaniel, and I started talking to the woman who was walking the dog, she was wearing  a jumpsuit that I had seen in a store window.....). </span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3) <strong>Realize your audience may not view the story the same way you do.</strong>  You have a specific point of view, but if it is very specific to you and your worldview, it may fall flat with your audience.There are things that are more universal than others, and to resonate, your story has to have some type of \"universal truth.\"</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4) <strong>Adapt to your surroundings</strong>. If you are telling a story to your friends in your living room you may be more informal, whereas if you are telling a story to the board in the corporate headquarters, you may need to be a tad more buttoned up.\n</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5)<strong> Use humor, but only if it is not offensive or obtuse.</strong> Have you ever been told a story, and the teller throws in some weird joke you don\'t think is funny? Or worse, you think is offensive (these jokes are usually tired canards about women, or racist stereotypes)?</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">What would add? And do you think the right storyteller can make up for a bad story? Let me know in the comments.</span>','Is it the story or the storyteller?','','inherit','open','open','','1662-autosave','','','2012-04-09 14:49:01','2012-04-09 14:49:01','',1662,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1662-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),
(1666,4,'2012-04-12 20:08:44','2012-04-12 20:08:44','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is almost over for those of us who celebrate it. The eight-day-long Jewish holiday celebrates liberation from slavery in Egypt. For most people, the main observance of the holiday is abstaining from eating bread and other leavened products (because the Israelites fleeing Egypt did not have enough time to allow their bread to rise), and substituting matza instead.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can Passover inform any marketing communications decisions? I think it can. Here are four Passover lessons for you marcomm efforts:</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>One: Freedom rules!</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is a festival that celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. In marketing and communications, we also celebrate freedom. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">We don\'t want to be tied to one platform, one way of thinking, solutions that no longer work.</span> Celebrate and use your freedom!</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Two: Change is good</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">During passover, we eat matza for eight days, and don\'t eat bread, pasta, etc. It is a change for most people, a pause, a reset. It challenges your routine, forces your creativity. When you do things differently for a short time, you may discover what works and what doesn\'t.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Three: Dress it up a bit</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In my opinion, matza is infinitely better when spread with cream cheese or jelly (or both). Plain is just OK. In other words, some bells and whistles help. For example, having a well designed, attractive website can give your business an edge over a dull, plain website.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Four: Friends and family are key</strong></span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Passover is a holiday that is better when celebrated with friends and family. In marketing and communications, your “friends and family” are your customers and your promoters. In social media they are your followers and \"likers.\" Your friends and family are the cornerstone of your outreach efforts.</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you see any other lessons in Passover?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','4 Passover Lessons for Marketing and Communications','','inherit','open','open','','1665-revision','','','2012-04-12 20:08:44','2012-04-12 20:08:44','',1665,'http://deborahbrody.com/2012/04/1665-revision/',0,'revision','',0),
(1684,4,'2012-05-07 13:26:36','2012-05-07 13:26:36','<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Many organizations, especially nonprofits and associations, focus on having one annual event that is meant to be a fundraiser or a idea-raiser.  Events are a great way to publicize an organization, get people together, and provide value to attendees. Except when the events don\'t go well. And that is a big exception.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unfortunately,  many events have better publicity than planning, and that is guaranteed to backfire. What I mean is that event organizers spend inordinate amounts of time and money to make sure that people know and attend a conference, and spend much less time and money on the logistics of the event.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">This past Saturday, I attended a \"women\'s conference.\" It had a very nice website, and was going to deal with some intriguing subject matter (women and politics, women in developing countries, etc.) I believed the hype and bought my ticket (also, I had a very nice discount from a friend involved with the group). </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">First indication of a problem was the disparity of information between the ticket and the website. One said the program started at 8:30, the other that registration started then, and the program at 9:45.  Neither was right. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lesson: Make sure the details are correct, and that everyone has the same information.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The people who were involved with greeting and registering were doing neither when I arrived at 8:50. Badges were still being put out. No one handed me a program. It was disorganized. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The program did not start until 10:15. From there, everything ran late. No one thought to tell people where the breakout sessions would be, and one was on a different floor (the session I was signed up for). </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lesson: Timing matters.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The \"panelists\" for the session I attended were sitting and chatting amongst themselves for 25 minutes, ignoring the fact that 40 people were sitting and waiting for them to start. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lesson: Explain expectations to presenters.</strong> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And then there was the issue of lunch. It was supposed to be \"grab and go.\"  I am vegetarian and guess what, there was not a single vegetarian option to be found. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lesson: If you are going to offer food (and there is no other food available on site) then you have to consider dietary restrictions.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The bottom line is that the event organizers did not pay attention to the organization aspect of running an event. While I am sure that some people got some value from this particular event, these lapses in logistics wasted my time (and my money).  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Event planners pay attention to every last detail from food choice and availability to coat checks to bathroom locations. Event marketers, on the other hand, are focused on getting registrations. Both are EQUALLY important. <strong>If you sacrifice planning for publicity, you will have a disorganized event. If you sacrifice publicity for planning, you will have a poorly attended event.</strong> Either scenario will create PR headaches for you later on.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In my case, I will probably never attend this particular women\'s conference again. My perception of the event and its organizers is that they were more focused on the bottom line than on making sure everything went smoothly for the attendees.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If you are organizing an event, be sure you spend as much time planning it as you do publicizing it.</strong> And PS, event planning is a skill. Get qualified/experienced people to help plan your event. It does pay off.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Invest in event planning not just event marketing','','publish','open','open','','invest-in-event-planning-not-just-event-marketing','','','2012-05-07 13:26:36','2012-05-07 13:26:36','',0,'http://deborahbrody.com/?p=1684',0,'post','',1),
