Tuesday, July 15, 2008
On April 3, 2006 I wrote a longish post about a crazy idea I had: buying futures of gasoline.
The game of finding lower-priced gas is just a diversion from the pain of having to buy it in the first place. Maybe we kid ourselves that we make out ahead of the game. Maybe we do make out ahead by playing the game. I don’t think that matters, I haven’t seen a lot of gas companies go out of business.
At the same time all the gas companies are trying to find ways to keep customers loyal. They offer a commodity product and try to differentiate it with fancy tech-sounding additives. They have a schizophrenia. They want customers to pay at the pump for convenience, yet they also want customers to come into the store to stock up on chips and pop. But it’s a gas station. People pull in for gas or to use the bathroom. That’s about it. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of opportunity for building the business based on the site.
Now I have an idea for how gas stations can make their customers loyal: selling gas futures. What are gas futures? They’re essentially price speculation in the present on the future price of gas. It’s what commodity traders do all the time. Buy at one price and exercise at another.
Now someone has gone out and done it, Springwise reports. A company called MyGallons (ouch, I guess they’re doing business only in Imperial-measuring countries?) has launched that lets its members buy gas in bulk today at today’s prices, then decrement their account in the future. Sounds close to what I described, but not as interesting and not strategically with the same benefit for gas stations.
Also, the comments on the Springwise post make MyGallons’ reputation look a little smelly, so buyers beware.
So what do you think? Would you pay today to lock in a price for gas that you could redeem tomorrow?
Thursday, July 03, 2008
My bookkeeper pointed out the other day that the backup on her computer hasn’t been working for the past couple of months. Eek gads! What that means is that all the information she is entering for my bookkeeping purposes could disappear. By “her” computer, she means my computer, which I’ve set up for her to use.
Documents, photos, music, videos ... there’s all sort of valuable stuff on that computer because it used to be my home computer.
So here is my data loss disaster story in a series of photos.
It starts like this:
Oh, that was weird!
Oh, that was really bad.
Oh, I don’t know how to fix this.
Oh, I really don’t know how to fix this.
====
Oh, James?
Oh, geez.
Oh. Ooooooooh.
Oh. No.
Have your own story? A single photo will do.
One of my clients is PutPlace. And they are all about preventing data loss disasters like this one.
* PutPlace offers real-time backup.
* PutPlace protects and organizes your photos, documents, emails, music and home movies.
* PutPlace enables you to publish a file on multiple sites and find it later.
PutPlace is more than file backup. It’s a lifesaver and they are running a photo contest.
All you have to do is submit a photo of your shock or horror with a caption about your data loss fears. The prize is an annual subscription to PutPlace for 100 GB of data + $200 USD Amazon gift certificate.
As Darren says, “Go forth and panic for the camera.”
Submit your photo: Putplace.com/pullaface
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Are you using these 5 online tools to expand your sales and marketing opportunities?
1. Email newsletters
Like direct mail, this is one way of delivering a marketing message to a prospective customer. The greater your ability to tailor and personalize these messages, in combination with gaining permission (rather than spamming), the greater your positive response rate will be.
2. Webinars
Online demos or training sessions can be an effective way to explain an offering, present a topic or generate interest.
3. Video
Increase awareness of your product or service offering by creating short videos that fans, media and other interested parties can feature on their websites and blogs. Create your own video channel and feature clips on your website and popular video sharing sites such as YouTube.
4. Blogs
As communication vehicles, blogs allow you to have a public conversation with prospective customers, current customers and fans.
A blog allows visitors to comment and provide insight on your products and services instantly, and it provides an opportunity to create buzz about your stuff or company.
5. Expertise materials
White papers and case studies are popular marketing tools and serve as ways to present materials as educational rather than as blatant sales or marketing messages.
They can be used to establish your company’s credibility among media and customers.
Have another online tool that’s good for business? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
YouTube Insight provides basic information on which of your videos is most viewed, demographic and geographic information. You can view Insight from your Account Settings.
What it doesn’t provide is data on how many people are embedding your video and where they are embedding it.
TubeMogul is a free service that provides “a single point for deploying uploads to the top video sharing sites, and powerful analytics on who, what, and how videos are being viewed.”
I can’t tell from the website whether they can track embeds but there are a number of cool features:
* Upload to 12 sites at once
* Create charts easily that track video performance
* Aggregate your online video analytics from online video sites including Google Video, MetaCafe, MySpace, AOL, Yahoo!, Revver, YouTube ...
* Export your data to Excel
See what Tubemogul.com is all about.
I’m still looking for a way to track where your video is embedded, i.e., what other sites it appears on. If you have a tool or know how to do this, let me know.
On June 13, 2008, BookExpo Canada ran a conference called “Another Country: Creative Borders, Globalism and the Age of Collaboration”. This day-long conference was devoted to discussing ideas from other places, including using the internet as a place or a method to get beyond place.
In Monique Trottier’s presentation “Websites: Investment or Expense?” attendees learned
* Advanced strategies and tactics to make your web investment pay off.
* Ways to evaluate website performance, build long-lasting relationships with your online audience, and have fun.
~~~ Monique’s Presentation Notes ~~~
Getting People to Talk About Your Stuff
Flickr.com: Sea Turtle
- You have to have something worth talking about.
- You have to use tools that allow people to easily pass on information. i.e., embed code, unique urls
- You have to plan so you can measure, measure so you can improve.
- You have to understand that online word of mouth is amplified and persistent. Embrace this channel of communication.
Why Embrace the Web?
Because things have changed:
1. The media landscape has changed.
It’s more fragmented. There are more tv channels, more radio channels, more emails, newsletters, webpages ... It’s harder to get attention.
Plus with all the media fragmentation you also have a decline in book coverage.
- Newspapers have folded the book section into other sections
- More papers draw reviews from Associated Press
- CanWest is sharing book reviews amongst its paper
- Fine Print was just canceled on Thursday.
- Book TV downgraded its coverage and let go of producers
- CBC Talking Books announced it will be canceled in the fall
2. The customer has changed.
They are more fragmented. They have more gadgets, more product choices, more news & entertainment options ... It’s harder to get their attention.
In particular because customers are busy creating content:
- blogging
- posting photos
- posting reviews
- talking to our friends with email, instant messaging, twittering
Flickr.com: swandiamondrose
This is a group of sewing bloggers who’ve posted their sewing-themed tattoos. This is passion. This is a content, communication, collaboration, creation, community.
If people are passionate about your stuff, they will talk about it. Your fans are your biggest advocates.
And, as customers:
- We are having conversations about what we like and don’t like.
- We are doing the publicity.
- We are creating the advertising.
- We are the sales force, the marketing team, the publicist.
Customers are a powerful group because they are now the handsellers of our stuff.
The clearly defined roles of publisher, bookseller, customer are now blurbed. The internet and the online tools available make it possible for customers to become the handsellers, to become the content producers, the marketers, this is the reality of the world we live in today.
Despite These Changes, Our Goals Remain the Same
- Support an existing customer base
- Reward good behaviour (i.e., to show appreciation for others who promote our stuff)
- Generate repeat sales
- Interact with customers
- Increase brand awareness among key constituents
- Increase our sales and marketing opportunities
What Can We Do?
- We can turn our websites from expenses into investments.
- We can treat our website like a top sales and marketing person.
- We can demand and measure performance if we put the tools in place to do so.
- We can acknowledge that the media landscape has changed and that our customers are using the internet to connect to each other, to find recommendations, to research, to discover, to share, and that if we want to get more attention, we need to understand how these tools work.
- We can invest people, time and money into tools that help us accomplish the above goals.
Consider a combination of these tools:
1. Email newsletters
Flickr.com: alykat
Like direct mail, this is one way of delivering a marketing message to a prospective customer. The greater your ability to tailor and personalize these messages, in combination with gaining permission (rather than spamming), the greater your positive response rate will be.
2. Webinars
SeoRoi.com on Meatball Sundaes
For non-fiction (in particular, business and self-help), online demos or training sessions can be an effective way to explain an offering, present a topic or generate interest.
See the example of Seth Godin’s webinar for The Meatball Sundae and how MyVenturePad used book giveaways.
3. Video
Lab with Leo episode 132 — Monique Trottier explains her top 5 email marketing tips.
Increase awareness of titles by creating short videos that fans, media and booksellers can feature on their websites and blogs. Create your own video channel and feature clips on your website and popular video sharing sites such as YouTube.
4. Blogs
As communication vehicles, blogs allow you to have a public conversation with prospective customers, current customers and fans. A blog allows visitors to comment and provide insight on your titles instantly, and it provides an opportunity to create buzz about your titles or company.
5. Expertise materials
White papers and case studies are popular marketing tools and serve as ways to present materials as educational rather than as blatant sales or marketing messages. They can be used to establish your company or author’s credibility among media and customers.
6. Search optimization
Flickr.com: squirmelia
A properly optimized website will show up in search results for search phrases relevant to your company and titles. Prospective customers must be able to find you when they are searching for your authors, titles or subject areas. Anywhere from 60%-80% of your site traffic should come from search engines. Check your stats.
7. Website optimization
Having a site that is user friendly and easy to navigate is an important part of any online experience.
8. Pay-per-click advertising
In addition to optimizing your site for search, you can pay to appear on the results page for targeted phrases that you specify. If you are new to search advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), there are many professional services available to help, as well as detailed documentation on getting started with Google, Yahoo and MSN.
eMarketing101.ca by Alexandre Brabant is a fantastic source of information on search optimization and PPC tips and tricks.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Another Country: Creative Borders, Globalism and the Age of Collaboration
Presented by: Humber College and the Book and Periodical Council, Friday, June 13, 2008
This day-long conference was devoted to discussing ideas from other places, including using the internet as a place or a method to get beyond place. Another Country: Creative Borders, Globalism and the Age of Collaboration explored the differences in publishing models from country to country, the role of technology in uniting reading communities around the world, and how globalism has affected and continues to affect the content and form of books and literature. Speakers addressed the growing importance of our boundaryless cultural world and how many writers’ work defies literary boundaries. With new technologies, we have entered the age of collaboration. Is there now a blur between author and audience?
BOXCAR MARKETING is a strategy, marketing and communications firm with expertise in online marketing, web design and business strategy. We help clients move their ideas from concept to completion by developing plans to connect with their target audiences and key stakeholders.
MONIQUE TROTTIER (partner) is an internet marketing strategist, writer/editor and account manager whose projects focus on digital content, web and mixed media. Her portfolio includes web design, online promotions & publicity, electronic press releases, email newsletters, blogging, podcasting, search marketing & PPC campaigns, training and consultation. Monique spearheaded the online promotions for publisher Raincoast Books, including the online marketing for the Harry Potter books, as well as the development of the first Canadian-publisher podcast and blog. She has worked with several Canadian publishers and trade associations. Her book blog is SoMisguided.com.
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