09Feb 2006 by Bob Cargill

Instead of the Black Door, It’s a New Blog

Blogging
Like Debbie Weil (a highly regarded online marketing consultant specializing in new media strategies), I couldn’t feel more strongly that fear is what’s keeping many Fortune 500 companies from staking a rightful – and long overdue – claim in the blogosphere. To blog or not to blog is largely a top-down, C-level decision, and those in the front offices, executive suites and boardrooms of corporate America are typically conservative and cautious about trying almost anything new. With that said, I’m reminded of a parable I’ve heard many times before (which you can read in its entirety here) about a spy who had been captured by the enemy and sentenced to death. To make a long story short, the condemned man was given the choice between the firing squad and the…
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01Feb 2006 by Bob Cargill

“Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care”

Blogging
“Savvy companies that leverage the power of blogging will have a competitive advantage…[and] those that don’t understand the potential of this valuable tool will lag behind,” say authors and blogging experts Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos. By way of their soon-to-be-published, new book, "Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care," Holtz and Demopoulos are out to help businesses create blogs that lead to heightened awareness, greater customer mindshare, increased product sales – and, ultimately, profits. I haven’t had the opportunity to read the entire book yet, but I have checked out some of it, and what I saw I liked – a lot. What particularly caught my attention were the following few paragraphs in the book’s introduction about blogs and the long tail... The…
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23Jan 2006 by Bob Cargill

The New England Direct Marketing Association’s Brave New Conference Blog

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing
I’m pleased to announce that the New England Direct Marketing Association has just launched a blog to help promote its upcoming conference, NEDMA ’06, It’s a Brave New World. And, in addition to my position as co-chair of the conference, I couldn’t be more excited – or, some might say, fanatical – to be taking on the responsibilities of moderating this blog. Yes, like any blog, it’ll be a labor of love for all involved, but the truth is that using a blog as an online propagation tool should almost be a requirement for anyone staging a major conference amidst today’s new marketing landscape. Not only will a blog enable NEDMA to post key news and information on the fly, but it’ll also allow us to engage our different audiences…
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27Dec 2005 by Bob Cargill

NEDMA Discusses “The Pros — and Pitfalls — of Blogging”

Blogging, Direct Marketing
If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as blogging, it’s demystifying blogging to those who don’t quite understand – yet – the power of this self-publishing platform, so I can’t tell you how excited I am to announce that I’ll be moderating a panel discussion next month on “The Pros – and Pitfalls – of Blogging” for the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA). This discussion will take place at the association’s monthly dinner meeting (which begins at 5:30 PM with a networking reception) on Thursday, January 19, at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Waltham, MA. Direct marketers should appreciate as much as any other communications professionals the importance of having an open, honest dialogue with their customers and prospects. There are many ways to carry on such…
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21Dec 2005 by Bob Cargill

“A Milestone Year for the Blogosphere,” Says Intelliseek’s Blackshaw

Blogging
“Love 'em or hate 'em, blogs are the real deal. Even if we deflate the hype and ignore the overly optimistic prognostications of the blog A-list evangelists, we still have an unmistakable, off-the-charts development with huge, ever-evolving implications,” writes Chief Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Officer of Cincinnati-based Intelliseek, Pete Blackshaw, in “The Pocket Guide to the 2005 Blogosphere" (ClickZ, December 13, 2005). “2005 was a milestone year for the blogosphere, even more so than 2004,” adds Blackshaw. To read why that was, according to Blackshaw (he lists a dozen reasons), click here. Via B.L. Ochman’s What’s Next Blog
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21Nov 2005 by Bob Cargill

Michael Gilbert on Nonprofits and Weblogs

Blogging, Fundraising, Marketing
In a brilliant, new article on Nonprofits and Weblogs appearing recently in Nonprofit Online News, Michael Gilbert covers the gamut, from how long he’s been blogging (“longer than anyone else online except for Dave Winer…”), to the cost of publishing his own blog (“90% of the ongoing cost of publishing this blog is my own cost of staying informed and reflecting on what I learn…”), to what motivates him to blog (“it’s the sense of connection that keeps me motivated…”), to much, much more. About nonprofit blogging specifically, Gilbert writes: “In my communication workshops, I still find that nearly every nonprofit organization is rather afraid of the idea of blogging. It's threatening to them to have their staff blogging, it's too much work to have their leaders blogging, and it…
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07Nov 2005 by Bob Cargill

The Virtual Handshake

Blogging, Marketing, Public Relations
As an inveterate blogger (43,000 words and counting), I'm asked all the time why I blog and what I get out of it. For me, the reasons are countless, not the least of which it’s an easy, natural way for me to share my knowledge and experience as a direct marketer and to develop new, mutually-beneficial relationships in the online arena. Yes, a blog is as much a powerful, self-publishing platform as it is a valuable virtual networking tool. It’s just one of many new forms of “social software” (e.g., LinkedIn, Meetup, MySpace, Ryze, etc.) that have emerged in the new millennium and – like it or not – promise to change the way you conduct business forever. With that said, it would be in any business professional’s best interests…
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03Nov 2005 by Bob Cargill

Blogging Workshop in Boston for “Smart Arts Marketers”

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Forgive the short notice, but if you’re in Boston on November 9 and can spare the afternoon, there’s a blogging 101 workshop for "smart arts marketers" taking place at The Pilot House on Lewis Wharf. Presented by Bill Cass – Director of Internet Marketing Strategies at Backbone Media, President of the Boston chapter of the American Marketing Association and a blogger himself – this workshop promises to help you “gain insight into how blogs can benefit your organization and learn strategies to develop and manage a successful blog.” In addition to Cass, the workshop will also feature a panel discussion and Q&A with the following: *Bill Marx, Arts Critic and Editor of WBUR Online Arts *Steve Garfield, The Paul Revere of Videoblogging,” SteveGarfield.com *Jack Wright, Director of Public Relations, Bank…
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21Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Goodbye Web Site, Hello Blog

Blogging, Marketing
Thanks to noted corporate blog strategist, B.L. Ochman, I recently caught wind of yet another smart organization that's shed its Web site entirely and instead staked a claim in the blogosphere. Union Square Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, turned its site into a blog because, as they say, “We realized that our thesis evolves incrementally as a result of our dialogue with the market, and that the best way to manage that was to accept that we would never get to an answer, so we should just publish the conversation. The best way to do that is with a blog...” Good for them. And good for those of us already here in the blogosphere who have had to be so patient with the naysayers and uninformed, knowing that…
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