Marketing Lessons From Military School
When I was 13, my parents sent me to military school. Although at the time, I didn't appreciate some of the "lessons" they taught me, many have served as guidance throughout my marketing career. We would have to to clean our rooms for a white glove inspection weekly. One of the things we had to do was polish the bottom of our shoes. Sounds stupid, right? Maybe, but it taught attention to details. After reading Steve Jobs book, I learned he was a bit obsessed about even the parts of Apple products no one would ever see, like the circuit boards. It is that attention to detail that has helped make Apple one of the most revolutionary and successful companies in the world.
Another thing we had to do, was disassemble and assemble an M1 rifle blindfolded. Now that made sense. If you were going into battle you sure as hell want to know how to use the tools of your trade. Your computer, your email client, your company pages and so on are all things you should know well. They are the tools you use every day. Yet some marketers don't even know how to use email. I still get mass emails with everybody BCC'ed. Get a copy of Mail List King, and send 5 to 50,000 emails from Outlook, or have a service like Constant Contact or Silverpop manage your email.
Constant Contact eMail Management
www.constantcontact.com
Silverpop eMail Management
www.silverpop.com
Mailing Software for Outlook
www.xequte.com/maillistking/
So what is the most important lesson in marketing? Simple. Get their attention. Take your banners, your ads, your pages and throw them in the trash. If you don't get your audience's attention nothing else matters. Period.
_________________
Black Friday, Holiday Shopping, And Giving Back.
Ok, so the holidays have become one big commercial productfest. If you are going to be shopping, here is a site that you can buy gifts and give to your favorite charity, I strongly recommend it:
www.we-care.com
_________________
Your Network
You may have hundreds of "friends" or thousands of followers. But your real core network are people you have really met face to face. It is critical to get out of your office and attend conferences, trade shows and seminars. Only then, will you be able to have face time with new and valuable connections, while learning the latest in techniques, processes and procedures. Register for eM12 eMarketing Conference (April 3rd and 4th, San Francisco) before it sells out. 35+ speakers, two fantastic networking parties, 4 relevant tracks on eMail, Social, Search and Mobile marketing. Limited to 300 attendees. Register now at:
www.emarketingassociation.com/2012/register.html
BLACK FRIDAY WEEK SPECIAL -- AT THE EMA -- USE THE PROMOTION CODE: linkedin for a 10% disocunt off anything on the eMarketing Association site, expires Saturday, November 26th.
Cheers,
Robert
Robert Fleming
President/CEO
eMarketing Association
www.eMarketingAssociation.com
like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emarketingassociation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/eMarketingAssn
Join Us on Linkedin: http://lb.vg/a9218
Sponsor eM12 at: http://www.emarketingassociation.com/2012/sponsor.html
When I was 13, my parents sent me to military school. Although at the time, I didn't appreciate some of the "lessons" they taught me, many have served as guidance throughout my marketing career. We would have to to clean our rooms for a white glove inspection weekly. One of the things we had to do was polish the bottom of our shoes. Sounds stupid, right? Maybe, but it taught attention to details. After reading Steve Jobs book, I learned he was a bit obsessed about even the parts of Apple products no one would ever see, like the circuit boards. It is that attention to detail that has helped make Apple one of the most revolutionary and successful companies in the world.
Another thing we had to do, was disassemble and assemble an M1 rifle blindfolded. Now that made sense. If you were going into battle you sure as hell want to know how to use the tools of your trade. Your computer, your email client, your company pages and so on are all things you should know well. They are the tools you use every day. Yet some marketers don't even know how to use email. I still get mass emails with everybody BCC'ed. Get a copy of Mail List King, and send 5 to 50,000 emails from Outlook, or have a service like Constant Contact or Silverpop manage your email.
Constant Contact eMail Management
www.constantcontact.com
Silverpop eMail Management
www.silverpop.com
Mailing Software for Outlook
www.xequte.com/maillistking/
So what is the most important lesson in marketing? Simple. Get their attention. Take your banners, your ads, your pages and throw them in the trash. If you don't get your audience's attention nothing else matters. Period.
_________________
Black Friday, Holiday Shopping, And Giving Back.
Ok, so the holidays have become one big commercial productfest. If you are going to be shopping, here is a site that you can buy gifts and give to your favorite charity, I strongly recommend it:
www.we-care.com
_________________
Your Network
You may have hundreds of "friends" or thousands of followers. But your real core network are people you have really met face to face. It is critical to get out of your office and attend conferences, trade shows and seminars. Only then, will you be able to have face time with new and valuable connections, while learning the latest in techniques, processes and procedures. Register for eM12 eMarketing Conference (April 3rd and 4th, San Francisco) before it sells out. 35+ speakers, two fantastic networking parties, 4 relevant tracks on eMail, Social, Search and Mobile marketing. Limited to 300 attendees. Register now at:
www.emarketingassociation.com/2012/register.html
BLACK FRIDAY WEEK SPECIAL -- AT THE EMA -- USE THE PROMOTION CODE: linkedin for a 10% disocunt off anything on the eMarketing Association site, expires Saturday, November 26th.
Cheers,
Robert
Robert Fleming
President/CEO
eMarketing Association
www.eMarketingAssociation.com
like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emarketingassociation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/eMarketingAssn
Join Us on Linkedin: http://lb.vg/a9218
Sponsor eM12 at: http://www.emarketingassociation.com/2012/sponsor.html
Cheers,
Robert
Robert Fleming
President/CEO
eMarketing Association
eMarketing Association phone: : 800-496-2950
Please note new address:
eMarketing Association
91 Point Judith Road #129
Narragansett, RI 02882
Meet me at eM12 eMarketing Conference in San Francisco.
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