Disqus - Latest Comments for CliffAllen

Re: Nerds Get No Respect at the Oscars

CliffAllen — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:21:39 -0000

FWIW, every major motion picture today would come to a grinding halt without the software those people in the photo created.

Re: Why I was wrong about Quora as a blogging service …

CliffAllen — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:37:04 -0000

Since Quora edits (or authorizes edits) to what people write, doesn't that change them into the legal definition of "publisher" who is responsible for all content they publish? I've forgotten the legal outcome of the Prodigy situation about editing content, so I'm hazy on all this.

Re: Quick and Dirty Guide to Writing Letter Proposals

CliffAllen — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:01:01 -0000

The letter-format proposal is a great format because it's quick for the prospect to read, digest, and approve. And, it's a lot quicker to create than a 10-30 page document full of boilerplate text, diagrams, and timelines.

The boilerplate should be on the website, and project/task timelines can be developed with the client after the agreement has been signed.

Speaking of getting it signed, since the letter has already been signed by the person sending the proposal letter, having a "signature block" for the prospect makes it easy for them to counter sign and return. Then, let the work begin.

Re: Why 2011 will be do-or-die for TV

CliffAllen — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:37:35 -0000

Consumers have always understood that bundling products together results in them being overcharged. They don't like paying for 3-5 products they don't want just to get the one product they do want.

Re: Brands Not “Currently” Allowed On Quora

CliffAllen — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:30:23 -0000

So, I wonder how brand names like "Tom Peters" would be handled by Quora? It's both a company brand and a person's name.

Re: The One-Paragraph Start-Up Plan - TheStreet

CliffAllen — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:47:03 -0000

This is a great quick business plan and implementation technique. I use mind mapping software to capture ideas and information like this because I can add sub-sections, a narrative, and links. It's also easy to create slide decks and a report. The outline feature in Microsoft Word is also a good tool for capturing this information.

Re: Login to Your Account

CliffAllen — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 09:38:02 -0000

These techniques are similar to some of the techniques in professional sales training. A crisis negotiator does need to "sell" the other person on accepting the "deal."

Re: The Art of the Quick Phone Call

CliffAllen — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 11:48:00 -0000

For people who call with an "ask" I suggest that they e-mail me material on the topic so I can review it and schedule a more in-depth call. This let's them know I'm interested in helping them, but want the call to be more efficient than the initial call would have been.

And, when I call someone with an "ask" I try to have my talking points written out so I can cover those items as quickly as the other person has time to discuss.

Re: How I Get Everything Done Without Going Insane

CliffAllen — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:59:44 -0000

I hadn't heard of OpenProj -- it looks like a tool I can use on an upcoming project. Thanks!

Re: 3 Sites to Promote Your Events

CliffAllen — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:52:50 -0000

For only event promotion, the FullCalendar (www.FullCalendar.com) service is great. It is a feed to many calendar sites, newspapers, etc.

Re: How I Get Everything Done Without Going Insane

CliffAllen — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:41:21 -0000

I've always worked in environments where I had multiple projects for multiple clients/customers to manage -- plus managing myself(!) -- and it's always been challenging.

I prefer software tools that allow for multiple levels of projects/tasks/sub-tasks, etc. because frequently a task turns into a small project with its own tasks.

LifeBalance (www.llamagraphics.com) is good for an individual, but I found it hard to create reports for other people.

Two mind mapping products have good hierarchical project management features: MindVisualizer (www.innovationgear.com) and MindManager (www.mindjet.com).

Re: No More Freelance Writing For Me; Only Blogging

CliffAllen — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:00:40 -0000

Congratulations on your shift from freelancing. There has been a long-term trend away from using outside professionals on projects to having in-house people learn how to do the work. This creates opportunities for expert freelancers and consultants to shift into doing more training and coaching those people.

Re: Green Dot: Moritz on “home run” deal

CliffAllen — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:05:59 -0000

For companies targeting a niche market, especially a B-to-B niche, it has always seemed best for them to look for "fame" in their industry, which can influence revenue.

Re: Why marketing is broken

CliffAllen — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:35:42 -0000

I agree that Seth's definition of marketing is very good. So much of marketing is about telling a story that leads prospects to make a purchase decision.

It's in the implementation that so many non-storytellers are needed to support the marketing operation, from market researchers to distribution and service.

I was fortunate to have excellent marketing instructors in school, including the author of a popular marketing principles textbook, a former logistics exec at J&J, and experts on statistics, etc.

Marketing is a great profession. Now, if we could just figure out how to sell people on doing it well we'd all be better off.

Re: Ten Technical Writing Tips I Learned While Biking

CliffAllen — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:08:24 -0000

Great lessons for life as well!

Re: Top 100(+) Steps to Check Off For Great SEO/SEM/Social Media Campaigns

CliffAllen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:53:02 -0000

That's an excellent checklist of SEO tasks. SEO has become so complex that it takes having a complete, master checklist like this to make sure that everything possible is done.

Re: "Surefire" Capital - SATC2 acx the web

CliffAllen — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:04:59 -0000

I agree that it's a bit surprising how few executives are familiar with how marketing communications techniques help lead people toward making a purchase decision. Just adopting any one of the four-step or five-step models of the customer purchase decision process is better than not understanding how customers buy.

Once an executive understands how customers buy it's much easier to manage the marketing communications and sales teams.

Re: Social Media is Changing the way People and Businesses Communicate

CliffAllen — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:13:17 -0000

I suggest letting a bit more of your passion and enthusiasiam for the social aspects of the Net show, and show how AOL would benefit, such as:

"I believe that AOL is the best system for people new to the online world to use, and I want to share my enthusiasm for AOL with those people -- and help them use AOL to improve the quality of their lives."

Hopefully, they will review your blog posts and appreciate the thoughtful approach you bring to incorporating the online world into people's lives.

Re: 6 Easy Ways to Say Thank You

CliffAllen — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:43:29 -0000

This is a great way to stay is touch with people without asking them for something.

Re: HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Offline Networking Events

CliffAllen — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:35:46 -0000

Another benefit of friends knowing you'll be at an event is they can watch for good connections for you and introduce you.

Re: The difference between personal and personalised

CliffAllen — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:55:09 -0000

True, a handwritten note with unique text conveys a lot of individual attention.

Re: The difference between personal and personalised

CliffAllen — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:16:51 -0000

This is in keeping with the one-to-one marketing concept of "treat different customers differently." It's easier - and more economical - to offer customers options to select from than creating a product for someone from scratch.

The extra benefit is that customers who choose the same options can sometimes become a new market segment. It's also much easier to get those customers together (online or face-to-face) and form a community.

Re: 5 Differences Between Social Media and Social Networking

CliffAllen — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:12:55 -0000

Your comparison is so accurate! For many marketers the word "media" means "broadcast a message to a large audience," which has little in common with building one-to-one relationships.

Both "social media" and "social networking" are key parts of a marketing program today -- but they aren't the same thing.

Re: Notes from Social Media Next Level

CliffAllen — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:32:08 -0000

Thanks for posting the notes on the conference call -- they're terrific!

I take notes on the webinars I attend, but I've been lax in turning them into blog posts or linkable documents. Yours is good inspiration for me to do that.

Re: Message to Readers: About Our E-mail Practices

CliffAllen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:55:58 -0000

You've always been good about spotting issues like this -- and getting improvements made. And, it's especially important for a direct marketing publication to lead the way on these issues.

I hope you'll keep us readers updated on this so we can learn from your efforts.