Catch up on the week’s news from SIPAlert Daily
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New ‘Confidence’ Law May Need Your Attention
On Dec. 29, 2010, President Obama signed Bill S. 3386 into law, the “Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.” The vote passed by unanimous consent in both houses and was one of four bills that the President signed that day so it kind of flew under the radar—although it will
Making the Right Decision May Require Some Time
Finally, I have found an authoritative source—no less than Kiplinger—telling me that something I have occasionally done all my life is indeed a good thing.
Procrastination.
‘Trendwatching’ Sets Table for 2011 Main Courses
Trendwatching.com, the “independent and opinionated” website of world trends, has issued their “11 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2011,” and they are thought-provoking and well-researched. Here’s a summary.
1. “Random Acts of Kindness.” Trendwatching advises businesses to “pick up the tab” once in a while or offer consumers a “surprise gift”
Rick Longenecker, President, Armature Group, Maplewood, N.J.
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
LONGENECKER: I worked at various jobs to pay for my undergrad and graduate degrees, but my first job after graduating was a field sales representative position with Cargill, Incorporated. I was fortunate to
SIPA a la Ode
Ho-ho dear members (and readers), allay your winter fret,
Gather with me now away from the Internet.
It’s the Santa of SIPA, the Nick of Time,
Here to give young and old mariners a rime.
So come with us on this seasonal skate,
To wish everyone’s New Year be prosperous and great.
Best Lines From the Member Profiles
We’ve been doing the Member Profiles for eight months now, plenty of time to come up with a final 10 for ’10 of best lines. (Yes, the column becomes “SIPA’s 11 for ’11” starting next week!) Thanks to everyone who has helped make the Monday Member Profile a popular addition
A Marketing Lesson for New-Product Innovation
“How do you create a market for stuff that people don’t understand?” asked Jeffrey L. Cruikshank last month in a special Sunday feature in The Washington Post. A Boston-based business writer, he is the author of “The Man Who Sold America: The Amazing (But True) Story of Albert D. Lasker
Trim Your Taxes While You Deck the Halls
We posted the December Hotline newsletter yesterday for all SIPA member companies and their employees. The online version contains a good article on taxes from the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants about what you can still do in this last week to save money. Here are some
New System Prices Tickets Based on Many Factors
Funny how we find out about things. I was carefully reviewing the TV channels last night as a guy is prone to do—women may have another word for this art—when I came across the closing seconds of the Utah Jazz home broadcast of their basketball game with the
Greg Krehbiel, Director of Marketing Operations, The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Washington, D.C.
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
KREHBIEL: In college I had my own business collecting information on natural gas pipeline rates. I sold that information to a couple different clients, and that turned into
Kip Tip, Fool Video Lead Path Into Daily Posts
There was a great cartoon in the newspaper last month. It went along with a story on office holiday celebrations. The cartoon showed a group of office workers with drinks in their hands and paper bags on their heads, with the caption proclaiming: “These office holiday parties
Exhibiting Tips for Drawing People Over
The SIPA online marketing forum has been snap, crackle and popping with discussions the last few days. One of the questions that has created the most energy is: “We are considering exhibiting at some conventions in 2011. Can anyone offer best practices or share what your experience has been?”
So here
Pay-as-you-go Internet Could Be Next Big Thing
I wrote about pay what you want pricing a couple months ago, where consumers choose their own value for something you produce. Now the current headline and pending FCC proposal concern pay-as-you-go Internet access or net neutrality as it is being called.
At the forefront of the proposal that will
Donna Jefferson, Publisher, Jefferson Communications, Annapolis, Md.
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
JEFFERSON: My first job out of college was working as a junior accountant for a CPA firm. During tax season we were expected to bill a minimum of 60 hours per week which
Online Forums Foster Advice and Solution
The SIPA online editorial forum has been active lately, and that means valuable information. The last question posed was: how do you best test a managing editor for a full-time position? Do you give a writing test and a Myers-Briggs type of test?
To backtrack a second, SIPA has online forums
‘Ambassador’ Strategy Pays Off for McLarney
If you happened to be watching “Market Morning” on Business News Network—Canada’s only all-business and financial news television channel—on Wednesday morning, Nov. 10, you saw a SIPA member take center stage. Michael McLarney, editor and publisher of Hardlines, provided excellent guest commentary on a segment about RONA, one of Canada’s
Timothy Lutts, Publisher, Cabot Heritage Corporation, Salem, Mass.
SIPA: How did you get into this business?
LUTTS: I’ve been part of Cabot since 1970, when my father started writing and publishing The Cabot Market Letter on the proverbial kitchen table. In the beginning, family members and neighbors collated and stuffed envelopes and we were paid in ice
Best Ideas: Tweetups, Email Capture and IT Cooperation
The Super Bowl has its awarding of the Most Valuable Player trophy, a concert has its final encore, and a SIPA Conference has its Best of the Best Ideas session. Last month’s Marketing Conference in Miami was no different as attendees gathered at the end for one last
Who No’s? Try Saying Yes or Sharing With Others
I saw the show “Oklahoma” the other night. What incredible music! (Are you older than you think you are when you say, “They don’t write them like that anymore”?) “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City,” “All or Nothin’,” “I Can’t Say
Conference Recap, PR Primer Highlight Latest Hotline
The SIPA Hotline newsletter has long been one of the most worthwhile member benefits. (The latest one has just been posted for members on the website.) So let me give you a sneak peek. We’ve included a Marketing Conference recap, a primer on good public relations, two pages of
November Hotline Now Posted on SIPA Website
The November SIPA Hotline newsletter has just been posted on the website, with coverage of the recent Marketing Conference in Miami! We’ve included an overview for you and a recap of some sessions, plus some themes that emerged and 10 takeaways for you to digest. Over the coming weeks,
Rob Lawson, Credit Today, LLC, Roanoke, Va.
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
LAWSON: Swim team coach at the Wooster, Ohio, YMCA. First “real” job: credit manager at The J.M. Smucker Company. I decided to start a newsletter after being a white collar fraud investigator for
Bailey, SIPA to Enter New York State of Mind
Listening to Matt Bailey of SiteLogic speak about social media marketing—as people in the greater New York City area will get to do at a Chapter Lunch next Wednesday—is like listening to Jerry Seinfeld tell a joke, Derek Jeter stroke an opposite-field base hit, or Christina Aguilera
Specific Goals Needed to Make Analytics Pay Off
“You don’t control how people are coming to your site; you only control what they do once they get there.”
Greg Krehbiel, director of marketing at Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., subtitles his always well-received presentation of Actionable Analytics, “What to do with all those numbers.”
Kate Mayfield, Managing Director, Mayfield Solutions Ltd., London
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
MAYFIELD: Marketing Assistant/PA at a tourist office
Has there been a defining moment in your career? Perhaps when you knew you were on the right road.
Yes. Seeing yet another badly implemented CRM [customer
Salt, Matt Salt Becomes SIPA’s Agent of Change and Leadership
I took part in my first SIPA Conference last June and was thrilled to be part of such a hard-working and talented staff. Julie (Utano) personally checked all the meeting rooms and speaker setups, Kati (Fritz) handled registration as smoothly as I had ever seen—I’ve been
Conference Handouts Provide Solid Information
Handouts for sessions from last week’s SIPA Marketing Conference in Miami are now posted on the SIPA website! As a preview, here are important and timely snippets from 10 of those presentations. The links are for SIPA members to view the handouts. (If you don’t know your password, follow the easy
Community Work Can Lead to Better Skills and Business
There’s an interesting—and humorous—children’s book I stumbled upon called “Mommy and Daddy Do It Pro Bono,” written by Kara and Aaron Hurst. She leads BSR’s consulting and research work on the East Coast, and he founded the Taproot Foundation, “whose mission is to engage business professionals to
Rob Nance, Publisher, AccountingWEB
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
NANCE: Growing up, radio was fascinating to me. I fondly recall being in bed late at night as a youngster huddled up with my AM radio searching for stray late-night signals from far away. Pulling in
Excitement Over Miami. Marketing Conference Delivers!
Here’s what’s so great with being at a SIPA Conference in person. During his insightful keynote—where he pledged that you should not be pressured by social media: “find the one [social media] that works for you and embrace it”—SiteLogic’s Matt Bailey gave the example of Minyanville, a publisher-plus in New
Texting Becoming Bigger Part of Business Communications
Melcrum had an excellent blog on Monday about text messaging as a communications channel. Their focus is on internal communications—so Mike Berry, their head of content, worries about “hard-to-reach and non-wired employees, perhaps on production lines, factories or distribution centres”—but there are lessons to be learned for external messaging
100th SIPAlert Daily Means We’re ‘Doing’ OK
SIPAlert Daily turns 100 today—100 days, that is. Not quite a milestone in the Cal Ripken consecutive games played mode (2,632) or Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (turning 150 in 2013), but one to celebrate nonetheless. It started back on Monday, May 3, with a member profile of Robin Crumby, managing
2011 Industry Outlook Offers Insightful Data
“It has to be easy [for customers]; nobody wants speed bumps on the information highway,” Anthea Stratigos, co-founder & CEO of Outsell, Inc., told a Capital Content breakfast audience in Washington, D.C., last month. The well-attended event was co-sponsored by SIPA and the Software & Information Industry Association.
Her presentation was
Almost There: Tips for Going Virtual
The merits of attending a conference are fairly obvious—network with colleagues, attend sessions designed for your field, ask questions of exhibitors and peers, participate in group exercises, make important new connections—but not everyone can go.
Around 200 people will attend SIPA’s Marketing Conference next week in Miami, a very good number
The Secrets of Success
Here are 10 strategies that SIPA members are having success with at this current time.
1. We are investing time and resources in improving and expanding our emedia position in our markets, while building more engaged communities both online and offline.
–Diane Schwartz, senior vice president & group publisher, Access Intelligence
Meg Hargreaves, Vice President of Client Services, CQ-Roll Call Group
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
HARGREAVES: I was a Communications/History double major in college. I interned at a local PR firm, where I wrote press releases and managed the press clipping files. After college, I
Thoughts for Writing Effective Lines of Copy
Copywriting. Many of us do it every day. But how many of us, in writing our marketing pitches, succeed in coming up with something memorable?
Well, don’t feel bad. Michael Cieply wrote last week that there have been hardly any memorable lines in films in recent years. Now granted, that
‘Times’ Is a Changin’ Towards Niche-Audience Approach
“All of a sudden we are doing something we have never been able to do at The New York Times. We are creating this highly interactive experience using our online platform.”
—Felice Nudelman, Times executive director of education
Thanks go to Matt Humphrey, CMO of BLR–Business & Legal Resources, for posting
Sports and Profits Help UCG Gain Spotlight
We first pointed out Thomas Heath’s excellent “Value Added” business column in The Washington Post two weeks ago, when he wrote about entrepreneurship—specifically a new book by Bill Murphy, Jr.
It looks like we’re going to be a weekly visitor to Mr. Heath’s column. Yesterday, he sang the praises of
Diane Schwartz, Senior Vice President & Group Publisher, Access Intelligence, New York
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
SCHWARTZ: I was a technical editor at EDS, editing manuals unhappily, I’ll admit. I realized that while I love journalism, I needed something more creative. So it was
On any Level, Networking and Involvement Work Wonders
The scale that Hollywood people work on is obviously glitzier and more grandiose than what we’re used to, but it can serve valuable lessons. For today, it’s about networking and making important connections. I attended the premiere (pictured left) this week of the new film “Fair Game” starring
SIPA President Quoted on New York Times Front Page
We’ve talked before about the impact that SIPA members have on the national (or even international) stage, and that was in evidence again yesterday. Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, Inc.—and president of SIPA—was quoted on the front page of The New York Times (and the
Popularity of Webinars Demands Further Review
A majority of publishers seems to be putting on some form of webinar or audio conference these days. The SIPA online forums have recently seen a few questions on Webinars. An interesting one involved whether it was worth it for a publisher to do “free” webinars, the reason being that
Clay Hall, CEO, Aspire Media, LLC, Loveland, Colorado
SIPA: What was your first job out of college and how did you get into this business?
Hall: Started publishing magazines while in college—Richmond Magazine in my home town.
Has there been a defining moment in your career? Perhaps when you knew you were on the right road.
When I flunked
‘Where Do Good Ideas Come From?’ Johnson and Miami.
Last week, Stephen J. Dubner, an online columnist for The New York Times, solicited questions for Steven Johnson, author of “Where Do Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.” Two of the questions/answers caught my attention.
The first was probably a better testimonial for SIPA conferences—or
Ten Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs
“Think about the problem you are solving before you come up with the solution.” Those words of wisdom come from Bill Murphy, Jr., 39, who was the subject of a fascinating column by Thomas Heath in Monday’s Washington Post.
Murphy’s much heralded new book, “The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business
Charging for Access More Than Open/Shut Case
The SIPA online marketing forum recently brought up the issue of newspapers charging for access to their websites. This came in response to the Boston Globe’s announcement a couple weeks ago that it will split its digital news brands into two distinct websites, keeping Boston.com free while establishing a
Cellphone Signups, Inside Tips and Best of Best Fuel ‘Miami’
With the Miami Marketing Conference coming up in just about a month—amazing how these things sneak up on you (the early-bird rate expires tomorrow!)—we want to spotlight some of the accomplished speakers who are on the agenda along with a sneak peek into their knowledge.
1. Two
Podcast Gives ‘Week in Review’ a Nice Air Brush
Six months ago, while searching for publishers that put together Week in Review emails, I happened upon SustainableBusiness.com. The website describes itself as a provider of “global news and networking services to help green business grow, covering all sectors: renewable energy, green building, sustainable investing, and organics.”
All of a Sudden, We’re Offering – and Taking – Advice
How many of you out there have posted comments or reviews about products you’ve bought, trips you’ve taken or publications you’ve read? With this audience comprised primarily of college graduates, can you believe that figure is close to 40 percent?
In new research just released by
