From podcamptoronto2008

I was watching the stream from home and decided not as much fun as being there, so beetled over to Toronto. Here are miscellaneous tips picking up from sessions and chatting with people here.

Best tip in the "doh, why didn't I think of that? category": from Malle at Harlequin for those of you looking at producing company podcasts, she produces their editor and writer podcasts -- and edits herself out! So she will lead the discussion, get everyone comfortable, outline direction, and ask questions, etc, then in editing will take herself out. You get the conversational tone without the awkwardness of question phrasing or repeats to get at some meat.

I don't have a great recording voice and if I get into territory that's too technical will lose authority, but I do know how to get subjects talking more and what questions to ask. Brilliant idea and so simple...

MacBook Air Ad Makes Me Cry

The combination of beauty, simplicity and the Pollyanna hopefullness of the soundtrack just make me want to weep. And of course I want one.

[Disclosure: I worked for a subsidiary of Apple for almost a decade and have fond memories as well as deeply ingrained appreciation for the work and genius that goes into making good products user-friendly, simple and beautiful.]

And that, my friends, is what this space should really be about, because it's the stuff that makes me weep. Whether it's a campaign or product, the synergy of elegance and function that demonstrates it was really well thought out and executed with care and attention to the customer and their experience. That it fully represents the brand. And the end result are a lot of happy customers who will buy more and tell their friends (cause I'm a greedy marketer as well as a humanist...).

That's why I am so interested in the intersection of direct and social marketing, because you need to like and care for people to communicate so you will be heard -- and that means sometimes being quiet and listening, letting them do the talking.

I've been thinking of what this means in my own work, and will share some of those thoughts coming up. Please share what you've been ruminating on, maybe they intersect, too.

The Industry Standard being resurrected

Hey, for those of you born before 80s you might remember The Industry Standard. B2B reports it is being reborn in blog form.


Speaking of which, Being Direct is reviving, with a new look and the requisite plethora of tags, but most importantly regular postings starting November 5. (Thanks for the nudge.)

What will they create a newsletter for next?

Ken Magill rants about Colgate-Palmolive's toothpaste newsletter, SmileTalk, labelling it a stupid marketing idea and asking, "What next, an e-mail newsletter about toilet paper called The Daily Poop?"

What do you think? Stupid idea or way to go in capturing those toothpaste evangelists!? :)

Edit your copy for better search results

Or rather, "better search results with edited copy."

I'm a lover of words and appreciate the great writers I work with in my job. They each contribute in different ways. This article, "SEO improves with well-edited copy: ACES panelists" gives a couple great examples to illustrate how to assess your web headings and subheads to improve your search results. And it's another arsenal for marketers everywhere who need to fight for budget to hire a professional.

Trust me, from years of experience, you save so much time hiring a great writer who understands your space and how to craft prose to educate or sell. Not only do you get better response rates, good copy says so much to customers and prospects about your brand and how you feel about them as customers.

Podcasting wish: rewind your radio & great sound

I have become over-dependent on the rewind and pause buttons through too much PVR and iTunes usage. I now want to pause conference calls and radio shows to make sure I heard correctly or because I had to pay attention to something else for a minute.

The latter may not be just a wish as more radio shows record for downloads. I admire how CBC caught on quick.

Since I'm going on about wishlists, how about podcasters who don't include their title and succinct note on what the episode is about? When I'm browsing my podcast subscriptions in iTunes I find I don't listen to them as often as those who do. Mitch posts his shownotes on his blog, but I wish they were in his iTunes info like Michael's.

Speaking of the latter, I'm enjoying Michael's ClientSide podcast -- it does what a good marketer should, which is respect the audience by editing and including valuable content. [rant] Nothing bugs me more than excess chatter, it's just rude! You want to talk to your friends, IM or call them, or label your podcast a "chat show with people I know", so I can stay clear of it. [/rant]

The latest ClientSide episode includes a chat with Rob Walch and they get into a discussion on sound quality and editing. Rob says that the podcast listener isn't as picky about sound quality, but I disagree. I like to equate podcasting today to desktop publishing in the 80s. Remember all that crap that came out when everyone and their dog thought they were a designer? Professional designers were aghast.

Same with sound engineers and broadcasters today. Generally I think the masses want good sound quality. This was a point made by someone at Podcamp Toronto and younger audiences having a low tolerance for crappy sound. And my sister who is an avid podcast listener. But she, and I admit I, mostly listen to professionally produced podcasts.