Marketing Monday: ReadyMade

Every Monday, I talk about people doing clever marketing. If you know a company that’s doing something neato, contact me and let me know!

It would be easy for any print magazine to get a little flustered in this economy. Journalists are being laid off at a higher rate a than other professions and I think we have all seen our favorite newspapers and magazines change over the last year or so.

Oh ReadyMade, how I love to waste time on you, and use your ideas for Too Cute Tuesday inspiration.

One magazine that seems to be doing well is Readymade. I first learned about the publication via my first conversation with who would become my friend Jessica. We were in the company breakroom where we both worked and since she was the new girl, I struck up a conversation. While she didn’t quite have me at hello, she did have me at a creating a chandelier out of string lights for her parents’ anniversary present. As a snappy dresser and fellow crafter, clearly we are going to be friends for a very long time.

Here are a few reasons Readymade seems to be thriving while other magazines seem to be floundering:

Marketing Monday: Daily Worth Newsletter

Every Monday, I write about a product, service, or website that has clever marketing behind it. If you want me to profile your business or website, contact me.

It seems that I keep running into information online this past week that is all saying the same thing: “Email newsletters are not dead.” I think anyone with an inbox knows this for themselves but apparently, email newsletters are more popular than you’d even suspect.

According to a recent Mequoda webinar about email marketing, the average person subscribes to 16 email newsletters and 60% of Americans use email everyday. So while I think RSS feeds totally rock, email is far from dead for many people, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

I subscribe to probably a few more email newsletters than the average person because of my work. There are ones that I immediately trash every time (one I can’t figure out how to unsubscribe to!) and there are some I let sit unopened until some moment where I am bored enough to read them. There are a select few I open right away every time. Daily Worth is one newsletter in that last category.

Daily Worth tip. Cute girly graphic + useful info that doesn't go on and on = An email I acutally open

Marketing Monday: DC Goodwill Fashion Blog

I’ve been following the DC Goodwill Fashion blog for over a year. I’m what we’d call in the online world a ‘lurker’ on this blog, meaning I never leave comments but totally read and enjoy it. Here’s a few reasons why this blog is a great marketing tool.

Even with a free Blogspot blog, you too can make a marketing impact. Really!

Genius Idea #1: The blog has a consistent (and actually interesting) voice.

The DC Goodwill Fashionista Em Hall (the blog’s author) is someone you want to be friends with. She’s fun, upbeat, and intelligent. Corporate blogs can feel stuffy, but this one never does.

Here is how Em explains the DC Goodwill Fashion blog (from an interview with Righteous (re)Style):

“The DC Goodwill Fashion Blog is all about vintage and contemporary fashion with a Goodwill twist. The blog emphasizes mixing high and low, old and new in attempt to help every reader discover his or her own personal style. And, at the end of the day, all money raised through the blog and shopgoodwill.com help to support Goodwill’s mission of training and employment for people with disadvantages and disabilities. In that way, one can look good and do good.”

Marketing Monday: Canon’s Free Photography Workshops

My high school classmate does what it takes to get the right shot. She is working on her school's yearbook, and agreed that she wanted to be famous on my blog.A Fun Afternoon Meets Marketing Genius

I subscribe to a few local papers and Friday, I was checking out the community calendar sections looking for something fun and interesting to do. I read about Canon’s workshops this week in multiple papers and was considering attending. Then heard from someone staying at the Inn that the workshop was fun, so I decided to do it.

Genuis Idea #1: Free how-to event gets lots of good coverage in traditional media.

Yesterday, I showed up at the booth the requisit 1/2 hour beforehand. First was a registration, filled out on one of three setup Macbooks. It was quick, and took my contact information.

Genuis Idea #2: Canon now has my address, phone number, and email address. Some companies have said this information can end up being worth $75 or more to them (Mequoda.com).

Registering was painless and a good way to collect information from potential customers.

There was an opportunity to borrow Canon equiptment for free. You could certainly borrow a digital SLR camera but you could also try out macro lenses and other specialized gear. I wasn’t going to do this but was persuaded by one of the instructors to give it a shot and there would no doubt be time in my class to learn the corresponding commands on my point-and-shoot.

Interview With Internet Book Promoter Alexis James

I ‘met’ Alexis online as someone promoting books on behalf of authors. My question was “Wow, you can actually make money helping authors promote books online?” Alexis agreed to elaborate for me and here are some of her answers about how she makes it work.

Promoting a book anytime soon, or wonder how social media types make money online? Read on.

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