September 2007 – Page 3

Godaddy And Obsolete Product

Once upon a time,
there was a product called domain backorder.
This service allowed people to
squat on expiring domains and then
automatically purchase the domain name
once it expired.

Domain registrars,
realizing that there was competition for these names
and wanting to increase revenues,
got smart.
Now expiring domains go into an auction process
with the registrars scooping the difference in price.

The problem?
They are still offering the now extinct
domain backorder product.
Sloppy.
If you replace a product,
take the old product off the market.

The Proactive Optimist

I asked a fellow writer if
she was shopping a manuscript around.
She replied that she was waiting for
a rejection from a certain agent.

Although I knew what her response would be,
I asked what other agents she had sent it to.
Her answer?
The predictable no other.

Why was this predictable?
Because pessimists are not often proactive.
That’s a sign of an optimist.
As Priscilla Palmer writes
“the Optimist lives proactively.
He looks for solutions rather than
dwelling on the problem.”

Reverse The Signs

A friend recently attended a
rah, rah speech by the company President
about how their number one asset
was their employees,
etc.

She and I both agree that
layoffs/restructuring plans are looming.
Why?
Because the executive team
has been focusing on that area
(enough to warrant a speech).

In “Hello Laziness”, Corinne Maier observes that
“The more a large company talks about something,
the less there is of it.
Companies assert the ‘value’ of particular jobs
just at the money they are about to disappear…”

Pavarotti’s Gift

Yesterday, I was watching the news coverage
of the great tenor Pavarotti’s death.
One anchorwoman said
“How could he have not been successful?
Listen to his voice.”

How could he have not been successful?
Read his biography.

Few people realize that Pavarotti’s dad
had a half decent voice also.
Why don’t they realize that?
Because the dad didn’t try.
He was too nervous.

Pavarotti did, however, try.
Hard.
He convinced his first singing coach
to teach him for free.
He worked part-time jobs.
He sang for free to gather experience.

Even with Pavarotti’s perfect pitch,
success was far from assured.
A gift is not enough.

Organic Architecture

Studying home design magazines,
there are currently two hot themes,
alternative energy sources and
organic architecture.

What is organic architecture?

It is designing a building so
it is in harmony with the natural world.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is an example.

I expect this harmony theme
to spill over to other industries.

Aristotle And Persuasion

Greek philosopher Aristotle
over 2,000 years ago
talked about the three ways
people are persuaded (sold to).

They are ethos (image and character),
logos (logic), and
pathos (emotion).

This still holds true today.
The most powerful,
of course,
is a combination of the three
in one sales or marketing message.

Is Your Knowledge Out Of Date?

The maximum length of time
I spend writing is four months.

Why?

Because any longer than that
and my business knowledge is no longer relevant.
That’s how fast business evolves.

As Louis Ross, CTO, Ford Motor Company, said
“In your career, knowledge is like milk.
It has a shelf life stamped right on the carton.
The shelf life of a degree in engineering
is about 3 years.
If you’re not replacing
everything you know by then,
your career is going to turn sour fast.”

I think 3 years is optimistic.

Trend Fusion

When I look for new product ideas,
I tend to look in different industries,
different markets.

Why?

Because those trends are proven
(with the plus that it is easier to sell
using a point of reference).

Robyn Waters in The Trendmaster’s Guide says that
“Trends with real staying power are often
a series of smaller trends fused together.
Trends that intersect and
complement each other are more likely
to be embraced by the consumer.”

Knowing When To Listen

I talk often about the
power of asking questions
but I sometimes don’t talk about
how shutting up and listening
is as important.

Recently I went to a workshop
with a fascinating host.
Instead of letting the paid host
share her expertise with the group,
some audience members asked such long questions
that a friend was able to run out,
get a coffee
and return
before the question was done.

A waste of a learning experience.

Using Digg To Test Copy

Say you’re new to the world of writing copy.
You don’t want to spend a lot of money.
You need to test, to practice.

So what do you do?

You submit articles to Digg with different titles
and watch the results.
And if you’re a savvy blogger like Mohammad Saleem,
you not only track the results but
you post on it also,
ending up with a killer article on writing headlines.