Sometime in the mid 80′s e USPS came out with “peel off” adhesive stamps. Avery Dennison produced them and helped to eliminate the need to lick, or wet postage stamp adhesive in order to place a stamp on a letter. Those were the “good old days”, direct mail is now facing extinction. The USPS lost a mammoth $8.5 billion in 2010, while it’s projecting a $6.4 billion loss this year. Standard mail delivery has dropped by 20 percent since 2007. The Postal Service is closing as many as 2,000 post offices, cutting 7500 managers, and looking to end Saturday delivery as mail volume fails to cover the costs. Obviously the Internet and email are the leading causes of this huge drop in mail. Let’s see if that’s good or bad.

1. EMPLOYMENT – You used to be able to send paper resumes out to employers. The advantage to this was that you could use quality paper, layout and typesetting to create a overall image, that is unlike any you can reproduce on the Internet. Monster and other job sites have all but eliminated classified advertising in newspapers, and paper resumes have been replaced by electronic ones. WINNER: MAIL – with the Internet there are just too many jobs with too many applicants who have a problem differentiating themselves. When you had to mail a resume, your odds of an interview were much higher.

2. DIRECT MAIL CATALOGS – Beautiful full color catalogs are alive, but declining. They cost a lot to produce and mail, and generally are used to enhance online sales. Internet catalogs provide more information and 360 degree views that are impossible in catalogs. WINNER: INTERNET

3. DIRECT MAIL LETTERS ETC. – You may still get a few of these. But they have been on a constant decline over the last 5 years. Insurance companies, banks and local businesses used this inexpensive form of marketing for decades. eMail is cheaper, faster and generally gets a better response. WINNER: INTERNET

4. NEWSPRINT CIRCULARS, FLYERS, CO-OP – For years one of the most effective forms of marketing and the one that supermarkets still use effectively. WINNER: MAIL (at least for supermarkets).

5. SCAMS – “You have just won $1,000,00″ wow. Remember the envelopes with fancy seals and handwritten notes? They were the Spam of their day. Fortunately the cost of direct mail kept them to a minimum, you may have received 2 or 3 a week. Now you receive hundreds of Spam emails daily, (well some of us do). WINNER: MAIL

OVERALL WINNER: THE INTERNET (duh). Although I still love to flip through catalogs and read real newspapers.

1. THE SPAMMY HIPPO – This is the guy, or gal, who insists on posting irrelevant advertisements on just about every Linkedin or Facebook group out there. Here’s the scam, first they write a blatant ad, for let’s say their new line of electronic facial masques, they copy it, and then paste it on every group, discussion board or blog they can find. If you are not vigilant about clearing their posts off your boards, they will ruin your groups. You must delete their posts, and kick them to the curb. If not, your groups, and pages and discussion boards will have people running for the hills. Nobody wants to see irrelevant ads on a topic specific board.

2. THE DOODLEHEAD – This is the poster that asks stupid questions like “I just wanted to know if New York pizza contains Polymethylsiloxane”? You know what I’m talking about, not only irrelevant but stupid questions that don’t belong within the discussion parameters of the group. Delete their posts, and if they keep it up, have a slice of Polymethylsiloxane free pizza and banish them.

3. THE FREELOADER – “Please go to my website, review each page, and report back to me with your suggestions” – Sure we have time for that. This poster, gives group assignments, “go pick a bushel of apples and bring them to me” – more than likely they just want their site traffic to stop spiraling downward, and hope you will buy whatever product or service they are offering.

4. THE POLYGAMIST – Yea, we really want to see the same (always a promotion), post 15 times an hour. Not to be too harsh, there are tech glitches that may duplicate posts, in fact we have had a few with our Linkedin bulletins (where members would get 2 or 3 of the same email). I am talking about the poster that always must repeat the same post, day after day on every board they can find. Not only is this counterproductive but it’s annoying to all group members.

GET THE EDGE TODAY, START YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR SERVICES & MARKETING.

by Mikal E. Belicove

When you think back on it, the advent of social media hit the marketing world like hot sauce on an empty stomach. All of a sudden businesses with an appetite for “what’s next” rushed to set up Facebook Pages, Twitter accounts and blogs to connect with as many customers as possible. Waylaid somewhere along the way, however, were the fundamentals of public relations, marketing, corporate communications and sales — giving way to erroneous assumptions about how businesses should manage their social marketing.

In my view, there is no “one way” to manage your online positioning using social media. Instead, each company’s marketing strategy should differ depending on specific goals and target audiences.

What follows is a cheat sheet to the dangers of absolutes when it comes to marketing online:

1. Size matters. Many small businesses equate the number of “likes” or “followers” on branded social-media platforms to success, not realizing that it’s the quality of those likes and followers that is important. More people signing up to view your message doesn’t necessarily equate an increase in sales or even a bump in long-term or sustainable brand recognition.
2. The medium is the message. Just because it’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace or some other newfangled online or mobile-powered platform, the message still carries more weight than the medium. It’s always been about the message. It’s not about the platform or the technology. The technology is just a tool, and just because younger people were the first to use Twitter and Facebook, don’t think for a moment that older employees can’t effectively use them just as well.
3. Social media gurus really do exist. No, they don’t. Here’s my advice when you run across someone positioning himself or herself as a “social media guru” or expert. Run for the exit. Everybody working in this field is practicing on the job training. Just because they’ve written a book like I have or spoken in public about the do’s and don’ts of social media, doesn’t mean they know your business and how to conceptualize and manage campaigns that hit upon your business-related goals.
4. Social media is ‘new’ media. No, it isn’t. Media is media. At one point or another, newspapers, radio, television and the Internet were considered new forms of media and now they’re labeled as “traditional” media. So “new” media doesn’t mean that only “experts” or young hotshots can successfully operate your social-media team. That’s hogwash. Nothing replaces knowledge of the basics of marketing, combined with knowledge of your business-related goals and the need for authenticity and transparency in your socially laden communications.
5. Social media can be effectively outsourced to a PR firm. Nobody knows your business like the people who work inside your building. You can certainly work with an agency to set up and implement your social media-related efforts or to propose ideas for contests and the like. But when it comes to communicating your messages on a daily basis, your people are in the best position to keep your community of customers and prospects up to date and informed about what really matters to them.

1. WE REALLY DIDN’T LISTEN TO CUSTOMERS – Ok we had focus groups, but we conducted a monolog with our customers. Not a dialog. Customers couldn’t moan and groan about our poor customer service, or faulty products to the whole world. We could crush small business with the strength of budgets, not the quality of service and products. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT – Because now small business can compete on a more level playing field, and the strength of your marketing does not necessarily have to rest with the size of your budget.

2. WE COULD USE EXPENSIVE COMPELLING CREATIVE FOR MAGAZINES, DIRECT MAIL AND OTHER MEDIA – Ok, there are still magazines and newspapers, but unless you have been living in a cave you have seen them get smaller and smaller. Direct mail is down substantially from a decade ago and the USPS will be bankrupt by December, without a government bailout. magazines are on iPads. Now we have text ads (little things), tiny banners, or 140 character tweets, social groups, fans and likes. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT – Because now we have to get even more creative than ever, in the way we present our company, on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin (and other Internet media). We have a smaller canvas on the Internet and therefore must get much better with our brushes.

3. WE COULD MEASURE – With Nielson, Arbitron, ABC, and so on we could get reliable numbers that had been proven for decades. Today we are bombarded with statistics, but how much is necessary to make marketing decisions. WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT – Now we need to reduce our metrics to actionable and relevant statistics, instead of just pouring over data dumps.

4. WE COULD KEEP OUR JOBS – In the old days, in order to make your numbers and keep your job, all you had to do, is what you did before. With social media looming, and new technologies and devices appearing out of thin air, we do not have the historical data to ensure success. So we have to take chances. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT – Because marketing is no longer “safe” – and the risks are higher than ever, but so are the rewards.

5. WE COULD DRINK MARTINIS AT LUNCH – Doesn’t seem like that’s being done much anymore. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT – Because it was fun.

THANK YOU – with the advice of Kevin Lee, Yale Graduate and CEO of http://www.didit.com and YOUR HELP, WE HAVE BUILT THE LARGEST MARKETING NETWORK GROUP IN THE WORLD – 331,849 (LINKEDIN) as of a minute ago.

Cheers,
Robert Fleming
President/CEO
eMarketing Association
www.eMarketingAssociation.com

Be sure to power-charge your network by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emarketingassociation

Twitter: http://twitter.com/eMarketingAssn

The IEA monthly report warned that unless OPEC increases production by at least 1.5 million barrels a day, world oil demand will surpass available supply during the second half of the year. The bottom line is that supply will fall short of the 89 million barrels of oil the global economy is expected to consume, which should push world oil prices higher – potentially substantially higher depending on global inventory levels

Separately OPEC warned yesterday that global oil demand will reach record levels in 2011 – and demand will continue to set records in 2012.

The forecasts are discussed today, along with investment firms commentary on developments:

There’s nothing like getting a new computer. It starts up in a flash. Programs load quickly. It’s all smooth sailing, at least for a while.

Fortunately, you can avoid all this. All it takes is some vigilance and a little know-how. Just like your health and your car, your computer requires regular maintenance.

A little work from time to time will spare your hours of frustration down the road. Read more…

On March 30, Epsilon Interactive, an ESP (Email Service Provider) counting hundreds of brands such as BestBuy, Citi Group and JP Morgan Chase among its clients, suffered a data breach. Now, millions of names and email addresses are potentially compromised, setting the stage for Phishing attacks on an epic scale. Here’s why you should be vigilant, but unmoved by the incident.

Epsilon Interactive, an Irving, Texas-based company, issued a statement four sentences long last week, informing the public that a “subset” of client data was exposed due to unauthorized access to their email system. This subset amounts to “2 percent of total clients” the company explained. [Source]

It wasn’t until some of Epsilon’s clients started informing their customers that the scope of the breach was understood. It started with Kroger, a supermarket chain in the Midwest. Kroger alerted customers that the names and email addresses they use for contact were compromised “by someone outside of the company.”

Those notices were followed by emails to customers from BestBuy, Brookstone, Walgreens, Disney, Home Shopping Network, Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, and many others. Each notice essentially said the same thing; their lists of customer names and email addresses used for promotions and marketing were exposed after the ESP was breached.

The fear and panic you see in many stories reporting on the Epsilon incident focus not only the major retailers, but the financial giants exposed in the breach as well. Based on customer communications, Visa, JP Morgan Chase, Capitol One, CITI, U.S. Bank, Ameriprise Financial, and American Express were all victims of the Epsilon incident. Considering those eight brands alone, the potential for targeted email-based attacks, called Spear Phishing, is a real threat.

“Now attackers [will] be able setup precise Spear-Phishing campaigns. These are more targeted attacks using information on the target’s behavior, such as where they shop, where they work, or what bank they use. Based on the additional information hackers can craft Phishing emails with malicious content that are more likely to be opened, downloaded, or clicked-on,” Rapid7’s CSO and Metasploit founder HD Moore and Community Manager Marcus Carey said in a statement.

Epsilon is just one of the many ESPs in the market today, and they’re not alone when it comes to data breaches. Silverpop, another ESP, is still dealing with fallout from a compromise to their systems in 2010. Like Epsilon, Silverpop has some major brands among their clientele, including Honda, Deviant Art, Play.com, and McDonalds, each impacted by the Silverpop incident.

Constant Vigilance!

No one knows exactly how many names and email addresses were hijacked by the breach. The assumption is that if a company issued a warning to customers, then every person on the list was compromised. So, Rapid7 has a valid point. A massive email list such as the one potentially obtained from Epsilon would be a boon to criminals.

However, it should be stated that the criminals didn’t need the data on Epsilon’s servers to target you in the first place. Sure it would help, but that data is just one part of the overall methodology used by criminals when it comes to Spam and Phishing. Email harvesting and social media offer a larger range of potential when it comes to hunting for victims. For many of you online, simply searching for your name would return the same data stolen from Epsilon.

So as a consumer, what can you do to protect yourself? What happens now?

“The biggest potential issue this may cause is an increased level of Spam and Phishing attacks for those whose names and email addresses were hacked, requiring extra vigilance on the part of those who were affected. However, this type of incident should not be taken lightly. It’s another reminder that privacy is an illusion on the internet,” commented Alex Eckelberry, the general manager of the Security Business Unit at GFI Software.

Don’t panic – stop and think about the email you are reading

Phishing gets its name because criminals blast the same message to thousands of people with the hope that one of them will take the bait. Think of it as tossing a wide net into a body of water where fish swim. Cast the net enough times, and eventually you’ll get some fish.

Some Phishing attacks are easy to spot, while others are crafty and take some effort to detect. However, Phishing attacks all have something in common; they want you to do something. Perhaps they want you to download and execute files. Maybe they want you to give them information.

The things Phishing attacks seek from victims can range from usernames and passwords to your complete personal profile that includes name, address, phone number, Social Security Number, bank information (account number, PIN), and more. Phishing attacks work, because they can either frighten most people, or at the very least make them curious enough to click on the links embedded in the email.

However, if you take a few minutes, you can spot the fake messages from the real ones.

As an example, read The Tech Herald’s breakdown of an IRS related Phishing campaign from last October. [Article Here] What we’ve done is break down some of the more common elements in a Phishing attack, and highlight why they are suspect. Another quick step is to view your email as plain text. Reading your email like this will allow you to spot shady links and other abnormalities in a given message.

If you rely on one of the organizations compromised to deliver information related to offers and services, in addition to learning how to spot Phishing attacks, you can take another step to protect yourself.

Change the email that the organizations use to contact you. For example, create an email address that is only used for marketing or promotional messages from BestBuy. If a BestBuy related email comes to an address other than the one you are using for them, it’s suspect until proven otherwise.

When it comes to email communications from the eight financial organizations involved with the Epsilon breach, remember that none of them will ever ask you for personal information over email. When in doubt, call them on the phone directly and avoid any Web contact until you are satisfied the message is legit.

Again, the incident at Epsilon is something to pay attention to, but despite the calls otherwise, no one should panic.

If you do see Phishing related to the Epsilon incident, the U.S. Secret Service is investigating. You can forward the suspect email to phishing-report@us.cert.gov.

Here are a few quick tips to help optimize your email marketing and maximize ROI

Tip 1: Segment your current subscriber list

Segment your current subscriber list along dimensions like geographical location, mailing and purchase history, etc. This will help you target customers with precise and personalized messages. Once you are sure that you are appropriately meeting the needs of your current list, turn your attention to augmenting your subscriber list using a good combination of offline and online tactics.

Tip 2: Target customers with valuable content

Send email content that is valuable to your prospects. A good email should include an appealing offer, educational or entertaining content, or information requested by a prospective buyer. It can be difficult to entice prospects and convince them to become customers in a single email, but relevant communication and a handful of great offers can be alluring touch points to start a relationship.

Tip 3: Follow up persistently

Research indicates that people take time to form their opinions about businesses and products. Send multiple email messages to your subscribers exposing them to your offer several times and convincing them to ultimately take the desired action.

Tip 4: Exploit the power of social media for sharing & list growth

Sharing a link to the web version of your email messages with your Twitter followers and Facebook fans empowers viral marketing. Include a share bar in all your email messages to permit recipients to share your message with their own social media connections.

Tip 5: Make your email messages smart phone ready

According to comScore, 43.5 million users are accessing email on a daily basis using their mobile devices. Make sure that your email messages are developed in a manner that they meet the latest requirements of smaller screens and a mobile lifestyle.

Customer loyalty is at the heart of every business, both large and small. One common industry statistic that is referenced time and again is that it is five times more profitable to spend marketing dollars to keep your best customers rather than acquiring new ones. Small businesses get this equation in spades.