Please, No Online Purchasing

I get so many messages in my email inbox every day for different websites and products, but I don’t really have time to check them, let alone buy anything from them. So when I was asked in my online marketing class if I had ever bought something from a email direct marketing campaign, I had to stop and think for a moment, and when that moment was up the answer was no.

At least not that I can remember.

The thing is, those junk emails back up in my inbox into the hundreds and envelop all the good emails I’m supposed to read (sorry I missed your Olympic opening ceremony party, Haylie). I hardly even look at the junk ones I want. Sometimes I browse through emails from Sephora, who let me know that I could pick up a birthday gift (free) in stores, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie. I like that I get a Sweet Tomatoes email, which comes with coupons, but since I get coupons mailed to my house and I don’t eat there frequently, I rarely open their emails.

I would much rather like to touch the physical object that is my purchase. I only order online if it is a must have, or something I can’t find elsewhere. My last online purchase was a grey jacket since I had been unable to find a grey jacket I liked in the physical world over several weekends of shopping. I would rather purchase a physical object than have the excitement that getting a package brings. I have limited funds that have to be spent carefully, and I weigh out all properties of an object right down to tactile impressions.

If I had seen the grey coat in the physical world before I bought it, I might not have since I don’t think it is thick enough. If I had seen the book on online guerrilla marketing that I purchased for the online marketing class, I probably would not have gotten it either because the paper is that of a child’s cheap coloring book.

So maybe I have never purchased anything from a direct email marketing campaign, but I have gone in store because an Anthropologie email promised the biggest sale of the season. It wasn’t. I didn’t buy anything even though I went to more than one physical Anthropologie store, but it got me in, and that’s probably what they were hoping for anyway.

Am I a Blog Idiot?

Yes. I don't understand why on the last post the blog applied different fonts to everything. I just want one font, please. And I don't understand why it changes the font after I post it. Or why I can't do a global font change. One font per entire blog. Please?

Write, but do it Green: Part 1

In my Ooligan Press work group, I have been charged with the task of researching how writers can be more sustainable in their craft. I haven’t done that research yet, but there are a few things floating around in my own head. So, this is the first in a series titled Write, but do it Green.

I don’t think this series is going to be in logical order, so Part 1 is the global search. Now, I’m not talking about replacing all your double spaces with single spaces, or when you change the name of your main character from Charlotte to Keri. I’m talking about getting rid of the big writing NOs.

Big Writing NOs

Adverbs

ing word endings

Nondescriptive words

Using a find and highlight system for these words can save a lot of paper in the hard copy editing processes. Whatever can cut down on hard cover copies is always more sustainable.

Adverbs:

Adverbs can lead to weak writing because they are used in place of metaphor and vivid description. Used sparingly, they can add to style and could be used in the voice of the character if that is the way they speak.

Nondescriptive words:

No-no words tend to be vague and wishy-washy or overworked and cliché.

It

Very

Get

Almost

Kind of

A little

A bit

Rather

Roughly

Maybe

Due to

Somewhat

Sort of

There were/was

Worthwhile/Worth while

In terms of

As yet

And/or

Irregardless

Utilize

Unique

Transpire

Thrust

The truth is

The fact is

The foreseeable future

Along these lines

That: If the sentence can read without the word “that,” then cut it.

Can: In some instances, cut “can.”

I can see my sister walking to her car.

I see my sister walking to her car.

Do not cut “can” if it shows the ability to see as in

Now that my sister has moved her car, I can see the puddle of oil her car left.

Weak Verbs

ing
1. The ing ending slows down speech. Changing sentences so that there are fewer ing endings speeds up the action.

2. Simultaneous action: ing action can lead to simultaneous action. "Opening the door, Katie came inside." Actually, she can't do both at once.

I search for each of these elements and then ask the document program to highlight them in different colors.

Here’s my system:

Yellow: Adverbs (search for “ly”)

Bright Green: Ings

Turquoise: It

Pink: That

Red: No-no words

Blue: Smile (a writing pet peeve; I hate when characters smile)

Teal: Can

What’s Been Cut from Brew to Bikes? I’m scared!

I’ve only read the pre-edited version of Ooligan Press’s forthcoming title Brew to Bikes (Fall 2010). I love it. Here we have, in concise book format, a guide to Portland Oregon’s local artisan economy. People don’t ordinarily think of Portland as a place of diverse commerce, and typically if they do then they imagine an overdone, artistic expression of hippiness, but that is not the case with many of the local businesses found in Portland.

Brew to Bikes discusses everything from local microbrews to Portland’s tech industry. I didn’t read anything about those two. I skipped those parts. In my limited time, I focused on several areas that interested me: Portland’s indie media, coffee industry, and fashion designers. I liked that Brew to Bikes expresses the real struggle of someone trying to thrive as an artisan in Portland, especially in a down economy. The book doesn’t glorify these local businesses as thriving green alternatives to corporations, but that these people choose to do what they love over cutting corners to make lots of money. However, because Portland isn’t typically a center for big businesses, smaller, more free thinking and artisan versions of fashion, coffee, and book publishing can stay afloat.

I’m scared for those three Brew to Bikes chapters. I know so many pages and sections have been cut out and consolidated, and I hope that those three are still intact. I have already used the chapter about Portland artisan coffee to become a better barista myself, and in my marketing project for my fake barista book. From the chapter on fashion I decided that I want to get married in one of those artisan wedding dresses. I learned about new bookstores that I need to visit and about the emerging zines-scene, and so many things I want other people to learn about too.

I can’t wait to see the edited version of Brew to Bikes to see if what I considered essential the editors did as well.

--

Possible Key Words:

Brew to Bikes

Portland

Local Business

Artisan Economy

Microbrew

Indie Media

Fashion Designers

Urban Planner

Artisan Home and Garden

We’re all Rich Here

I was out with my boyfriend, Ben, his mom, Deb, and step dad, Jim, for dinner the other night. Jim was late. It was pleasant until he got there, but then, like always, the conversation turned to politics. He is about as conservative as conservative gets without being religious, and Ben’s mom is not far behind. Whenever Jim talks about politics it fires Ben up and makes me concerned as to whether or not I should marry a person that says, “Whoever voted for those bills does not deserve to have a job.”

They don’t? Then watch me get unemployed, mister. And you didn’t even vote in that election. You’re fired too.

I’m not going to talk about the specific bills and what they mean. They’re a damned if you do, damned if you don’t sort of thing.

I’m concerned about the lack of compassion. My conservative would-be-family say things like, “I was a democrat until I saw how much the government was taking out of my paycheck.”

So what, guys? I think of government like a service that you’re buying: you’re buying an education for your children, you’re buying roads to drive on, you’re buying mail delivery, you’re buying firefighters to stop your house from burning down, and you’re paying the cops to catch the bad guys. It’s not perfect, there is internal loss like at any company, but we must have it. Those people have wages that need to be paid.

I’m rich. I have over twenty grand in student loans, and make $9 an hour plus tips, drive a car with a chunk missing from the bumper, and shop at discount stores. Deb and Jim drive cars that have voice commands and own three houses between them. And they don’t want any more money taken out of their check. I’m sorry, but we’re all rich here, living in house with fewer than three spiders at a time, and no dirt floors, and clean drinking water.

Buck up.

Can Macmillan dam(n) the Amazon?

I remember the first commercial that I ever heard for Amazon: I was in my bedroom as a child, listening to the radio. I don’t remember it exactly, but Amazon said that it had giant warehouses full of more books than would fit on the moon.

I, being a young child with an active imagination, imagined one giant moon-sized warehouse and tried to pinpoint where in the United States they would put it. The whole idea seemed amazing to me, a person who loved books and only had access to the library. Imagine: I could get the next book without worrying that it was checked out, or being put on the library’s new book waitlist!

But what Amazon meant to child-Tanna is different than what Amazon means to big me. Amazon would be more fittingly named Nile, because that’s exactly what it is (although Amazon works too, Nile is a more accessible metaphor): a visible river channel (of products) through a part of the world (industry) that everyone relies on. There may be tributaries, but they aren’t the main focus, and you can’t take barges and cruise ships down a publisher’s website to buy books. There isn’t the capacity to handle that traffic. The Nile is for the big dogs and the consumer.

However, like the Nile has a monopoly on Egypt, Amazon appears to be gaining a monopoly in the book industry. It is so huge that publishers can’t ignore it as a major vendor, and only the big guys like Macmillan could get away with putting their foot down on the price of eBooks. Amazon couldn’t even care one iota if student-run Ooligan Press stood ground on eBook pricing.

Amazon’s business model is different from big five publishers since it doesn’t have to rely on authors, and their royalties, to make money. It does not have an editorial team like the major publishers, no book design team, but just relies on heavy discounts and whatever crap self-publishers will pay Amazon to sell their books for them. Publishers can’t compete. What this means for the publishing industry is that the big five are going to have to join forces and become the book behemoth that parts the Amazonian waters (and mixes the metaphors).

If Amazon values books below market cost, like they did in the Wal-Mart Wars of ‘09, then publishers can’t compete with Amazon’s business model. That’s not good for anyone, and until Amazon becomes a publisher with acquisitions through marketing departments, they need the publishers to keep making books. Hopefully, Macmillan can stop the Amazon and make eBook publishing profitable for all publishers.

Apartments that Suck and then Rebrand

The past two weeks I have been transferring units in the same apartment complex. That isn’t as terrible as moving fifty miles, but only in that I didn’t have to pack my car like a 3D jigsaw puzzle; there is still the same amount of hefting boxes. And this was a surprise transfer. Had my boyfriend, Ben, and I known that we would be moving a week into the new school term we would have boxed up and cleaned during the Christmas holiday. No such luck.

This transfer is an example of good marketing on the part of the apartment complex. They re-branded their management image to save their little tails.

So let me tell you something about this complex:

1. It isn’t run down. There are ducks and a walking path.
2. The location is excellent near the apex of two major freeways, and is exactly halfway between my work and my school, and my boyfriend’s work in another direction.
3. It is near lots of restaurants, entertainment, and shopping, and if the area’s establishments aren’t enough, we’re only a short hop from downtown Portland.

Perfect.

Except few things. Our first unit molded over right after we moved in. So we worked with the management and they transferred us. As soon as we were transferred, they changed their minds about being nice, and despite an immaculate cleaning job, we didn’t see a cent of our security deposit. When I visited Howard, the manager, he said the place wasn’t clean because we didn’t pull the stove and fridge out. Fine. I’ll give him that since we didn’t, but that doesn’t mean he can pocket the whole deposit. When Ben went to talk to him, Howard said that they should probably keep these issues between the men from now on.

After that, just a week into the new lease we were already counting down the days until we could move out. As the year rolled around, we got a notice for a lease resigning event with a $100 resigning credit. Ben and I went to check it out, but we were still pretty sure that we were leaving.

The new manager, Jenn, took one look at our unit, said we were overpaying, and found us an upgraded unit for $100 less a month. And two months free rent. And two weeks to move out of our old place. And she checked the old unit to make sure it was clean enough and told us not to pull the stove out. She was willing to work with us, and was there to help us instead of looking out for the best interests of the complex.

Now we are happy and willing to stay. We even turned around the old apartment early so they could re-rent it faster.

In marketing, the best interest of your business is the happiness of the people using your service. If they aren’t happy, they aren’t going to stay with you, and can choose from a million other people offering the same service.

This seems basic, but so many places don’t give a shit about you when you walk in. They consider your business a dime a dozen. It isn’t. Your dollar counts. Use it to vote for good service.