Commenting is Marketing
I was looking through the nominations for the SEMMY awards and came across this great post by Darren Rowse over at Problogger. He talks about 10 ways to hurt your blogs brand by commenting on other blogs. It’s all pretty informative stuff that seems like common sense to me. This read comes at a particularly pertinent time for me as I was recently asked to compile a list of blogs that we should respond to as a company.
I grabbed a few to check up on and added them to my Google Reader to subscribe. I’m very sensitive to spam and I don’t want to be “that guy” (or girl, as is the case). I learned after reading Darren’s post that I’m not doing anything wrong. I’ve been making relevant comments (of course) and throwing in the PsPrint URL when it adds to the conversation of the bloggers post.
I post Darren’s question to my few readers here:
- What practices would you add to the posted list?
- Which would you remove from it (or modify)?
- What advice would you give bloggers when it comes to commenting on others blogs?
- As a blogger – do you police any of these types of things? Do you have a comment policy of any kind?
Higher Commissions? Yes Please…
About a month I go, I briefly mentioned that we’ve started a new affiliate program on Commission Junction. Didn’t bring a whole lot of fanfare to the party since we hadn’t officially made the announcement to our customers and current members at that time. I gave up my position as the manager of PsPrint’s Direct Mail Services to focus more time and attention on this little bugger.
Well, let’s get this party started? 8%? Weak sauce of the past. We’re serving up 15% commissions now, baby!
That’s right, we’ve dropped our measly 8% commissions and boosted to 15%. Partnering with Commission Junction has made the program so much better: a better interface, more reliable tracking, the support of a big affiliate network, you name it. It’s all simpler than ever for our affiliates AND us!
I’m really excited about the transition as it gives us a chance to start over and scrap the old program soon. It’s hard to improve on something that’s inherently flawed like our old program.
We’ve made sure to get the word out on this just in time for Affiliate Summit 2008 West. The Summit will be held at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino February 24th through 26th. PsPrint will of course have a booth and I will be there, so if you happen to be a reader of this blog stop by and say hi to me for a special treat :).
Really, I swear!
Read MoreAnother Suitcase in Another Hall
It’s the end of a 2 year streak for me here running our Mailing Services at PsPrint. I’m passing it on to an able-bodied lieutenant and the Customer Service department… probably where it should have been the whole time. At this point the majority of the day to day stuff has been passed on and it is a bit strange to come in and not have to do these things.
But what will I do with my days? More of the same, really, just with more time to focus. We’re still transitioning our current affiliate program into a reseller program and have begun our true affiliate program over at Commission Junction. I’ll have more time to properly manage both programs and follow up with affiliates and resellers alike.
There will also be more time to focus on our email marketing campaigns, trade shows, advertising opportunities, blogging, social network marketing, reputation management, new media, and our green printing initiative.
So the end of an era has come and 2008 will be a fresh year for me here. I’m excited, and yet, anxious. Bring it on!
Read More25 Death-Defying Design Principles for Direct Marketing … in 25 Minutes
Anyone interested in a free webcast to pick up some marketing tips, come on down! Sandra J. Blum brings experience in direct marketing, advertising and marketing communications to her highly rated sessions. Register for free at the Dynamic Graphics website.
From the Dynamic Graphics website:
In this fast-paced webcast, sponsored by PsPrint, you’ll see the visual elements of persuasion and moments of truth that trigger response. You’ll learn about specific changes (often minor) you can make to improve response significantly. And you’ll hear the latest research on design approaches that work. This is one practical session that’s focused on helping you evaluate creative content with innovative insight.
This will be a great session for small businesses, copywriters, and graphic designers everywhere. I’m personally looking forward to catching this one as I missed the last webcast we sponsored, and I hear it was fantastic. For 2008 we’re really looking at some cutting edge new marketing techniques and I’ll be on the supreme lookout for new things to try! New contests, viral marketing, and blogging like crazy! The new year is going to be exciting here at PsPrint!
Many Hats
Things I’m In Charge Of Today
the Print Green initiative
Social Media Marketing
Mailing Services
Affiliate Program
Reseller Program (TBA)
E-Mail Marketing
Tracking IT fixes
Tracking website version changes
Tracking Opt-Outs for emails and snail mails
Answering Marketing Email
Things I Assist With
Advertising
Trade Shows
Donations
Partnerships
Does this seem like too much or just enough?
Read MoreTurning Gray at 26?
While brushing my hair this morning I found not one but three gray hairs. It’s hard to tell the color of a single hair, it almost looked blond… but considering that my hair is naturally a dark brown, I sorta doubt they were blond.
Has the stress gotten to me already? My coworkers have joked that I’m no longer allowed to take Vacations because the rely on my being here so much (although this is something they joke about every time I take some time off for any reason…) And since returning from Sin City, the work load on my desk has been seemingly endless. I’ve been here two and a half extra hours each night trying to catch up before Labor Day, and with it also being the end of the month I have EOM reporting coming up to worry about as well.
What happened to the days when I just came in, did my job, and went home? I guess in the days of mailing services, marketing, advertising, sales, social media, the affiliate program, and email marketing there’s no sleep for the weary. It took me half a day just to catch up on Twitter posts and all the blogs I subscribe to through Google Reader. I’ve perhaps spent more time here at PsPrint than home in the last few days.
In case you’re wondering, I did enjoy my vacation. Some of the highlights included a helicopter tour over the strip at night, seeing Penn & Teller live and getting photos with them and their autographs, seeing lots of animals, going very high up at the top of the Stratosphere tower and the Paris Las Vegas Eiffel Tower, and traipsing all over Las Vegas Blvd. My travel friend and I basically saw everything we went to Vegas wanting to see, except we missed out on the Tournament of Kings dinner show at Excalibur. I think when I go back to Vegas in November to attend the National Association of Realtors’ conference, I might take an evening to head over there. I wasn’t quite ready to re-join reality!
