Email Marketing or Email Spamming?

As I always say, in the future every company will rely in in digital advertising and marketing more than anything. Email marketing is one of the useful tools to accomplish good results though these channels. Now, a good and effective email marketing is that one that it is sent to a list of subscribers that have actually subscribed to it.

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Recently, I have heard about companies that buy those lists from third parties and use it to send their own promotions. This can be wrong in so many ways!

First of all it is illegal to do it.

            Yes! Also in Puerto Rico.

Is it really worth it?

I mean, if you just got a list of random people, how do you know it is your target?  Maybe the company can gat one or two responses, but that is it. A well-worked list will develop by far better results.

SPAM

People hate SPAM, the company will receive many unsubscribes and complains by the minute.

How to deliver effective Email Marketing?

This can take time, but every company needs to create their own list of subscribers starting from scratch. A good way to do this can be by integrating the social network and creating marketing strategies. For example, creating a Facebook Page app synchronized with the EM service provider. Another way is to create contest and create an option for the people to receive email notifications offers and specials.  The possibilities are endless!

Some usfull tools

• Mail Chimp
• Constant Contact
• Short Stack
• Wufoo
• Benchmark Email
• Heyo

If you want to read a little more about this topic, please visit my friend’s blog.

Happy Email Blasting!!

Always Be Prepared When Seeking New Opportunities.

I have been through a process, both personal and professional. I have been seeking for new opportunities in my career and I have been very fortunate for finding this opportunities. Of course, just like every process there are obstacles that present in the way. In this case, when I talk about obstacles I mean, not having phone signal when expecting for an interview call, the phone being damaged, having an important meeting that you can’t get out minutes before an interview, not having the portfolio up to date and many other things. And yes! All of these things happened to me. I have been so MAD at my self for all of this, because many of this thing could have been avoided.

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I always try to tell my friends and colleagues to be prepared, have everything up to date, be responsible, but this time I was the one how was prepared. So here are some tips that helped me just when I realized what I was doing wrong.

• Do not try to conquer the world by your self in one day!
• Be responsible and DO NOT let any one down.
• Communication is key! If you cannot get to a meeting, do not compromise your self. I you tell from the beginning what is going on, the future employer might take that in consideration as being responsible.
• If you know that your phone is in its finals days, do not let it to last minute to repair it. (Maybe this only happens to me, but you get the point)
• Your portfolio is essential. Do not leave it to last minute to give it an up date. You know what are your best works, so as soon as you have it add it to your portfolio.

This may be thing that seems silly, but these are things that can make or break any opportunity.

Digital Media: The Future of Advertising?

Previously I have talk about Social Media and it’s benefits for advertising, but what is the future of advertising in the digital media? I mean, nowadays you can find nearly anything thru the Internet and business owners and/or big companies are taking advantage of it.

If you are like me, you have little time to watch TV and read newspapers. It takes me two hour to get from home to work in the morning, then I work 8 hours daily (sometime more), after work I go home and it takes me to more hour to get there; and when I get home I have to study for my classes. So tell me, when is the best time for me to watch TV or sit down with a cup of coffee and read the newspapers? I guess, not very often.  So, how is the best way for big companies or local business attract customers like me? Emulating the TV and reading experience.

                   

There are many tools to accomplish this task. The tools that I will mention are or will be the future of advertising. Not only they will help reach more people, but also many of these are inexpensive (compared to traditional media), and ar great for growing businesses.

• Google Adwords
• Google Adsense
• Facebook Ads
• Facebook Apps
• Blogs
• Twitter Trends
• Websites
• Mobile Apps
• Youtube Videos

The list can keep going on, there are endless possibilities. With a creative advertising and marketing campaign any business or product grow and keep growing.

(Added this MEME just for fun)

I'm an Artist!

Well, actually I am not an artist, and I do not think that is my call. Recently I have been helping a friend with his music band. The band is called Pulpo, they are an alternative rock band from San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are trying to get the band to be recognized by the local audience, but it is not so easy. I wish it could be as easy as saying “I’m an artist, hear me!” but it is not. These kinds of projects need preparation, time, dedication, and of course money.  This is why in this post I will talk about how to make the process a little bit easier.

Songwriting
Take time to write. After every song is done, make sure to copyright them. To avoid future legal issues make sure to do this steps. Before publishing,  you will want to have everything well protected.

Recording
Make sure to get a good recording studio. If you are a new artist look for something around your budget. In Puerto Rico, the prices may vary from $75 and up per hour. This process can take a long time, even more is the band members are “picky” with what they do.  But it is important for everything to be perfect during this process; the career of the artist or band depends on this.

Publishing
CDs do not sell as they used to. Nowadays, what do sell are concert tickets. If you are a new artist with a low budget start by publishing digitally to see how it goes. If the response is what you wanted then go and print CDs.

Press Kit
I have learned that a press kit is the portfolio of the artist. It is important not only for getting publish, but when looking for an agent and/or manager and booking gigs. It is the presentation card of the band. It is essential for any artist.

How to show your work.

How do you tell people how good you are in what you do? You can not go to a future employer or client and tell them, “Hey, I am the best at what a I do.”, “Hire me.” or “Buy my services.”
In the entertainment industry thing just does not work as easy as that. In this industry,  people buy based on experience, a good portfolio and word of mouth.

There are many ways to have a great portfolio and showcase your work, like:

Demo Reel
A demo reel is great for people working in animation, modeling, films and acting.

Website
For me,  any type of service or product can be published on a website. Nowadays, people look for reviews and information via the Internet. This is an inexpensive way to market a service and what you do.

Blog
What a better way to be connected to your followers than with a blog. Write articles, show pictures, give tips, do interviews, write reviews, keep everyone up to date. This will show people that you have much knowledge and that you know what you are talking about. And it is Free!

Demo (sound)
If you are a narrator, announcer or singer-songwriter, a demo can be a great way to show your work. It does not have to be recorded to a CD and fiscally delivered to the person you want. Thanks to the Internet, you and send the demos via Internet or post it in websites looking for talent.

PDF
It does not matter if it is a print PDF or an interactive PDF. Both ways are perfect for graphic designers and photographer.

Remember, the sky is the limit. These are only a few ways to create a portfolio. Be creative and “think outside of the box,” people appreciate it more.

Entertainment Law Podcasts Review

In a previously blog post, I talked about false adverting and the importance of selling of sticking to the law. This time I want to talk about the legal liabilities in advertising and entertainment industry. I recently heard a few podcast about false advertising, copyrights and trademarks in the entertainment law. The one that got most of my attention was a podcast by Gordon P. Firemark.

The first topic I founded interesting was “Appeals Court Rejects Photographer’s Claim That SonyTV Movie Stole Image.”  It is shocking how one little detail can define whether or not is protected by the law.

Going back to False Advertising, another interesting topic was “Lawsuit Claims That SubwayFootlongs do not Measure Up.” Many claims have been brought up from people that have measured the Subway subs, and alleged that it measures 11in. instead of 12in.

For any company or product it is extremely necessary to be aware of every single detail that can become a liability. Even if the problem or the risk is unintentional, unfortunately not every people have the same intentions (mostly when working in a large company with many employees). Like I previously mentioned, it is impressive how small details can become a big liability. Small details can make or break the image of a product.

In the entertainment and advertising industry, image is everything. Consumers like to buy for the looks and the names, so sticking to the law and having a good image can help into the success of a product or a company.

To hear more about the podcasts, please visit the links below.  Remember that is very important to keep up to date with what is going on in the industry.

Entertainment Law Update.

- Episode 29 360 deals rights of publicity.

- Episode38 when a foot is only 11 inches and a batmobile is a character.

IP Law Podcast Series (iTunes U)

- Deciding between Patent & Trade Secrets Protection

False Advertising

I have met many people that say that advertising does not work because of the exaggeration it give of the quality of the products or service. I always finish arguing with those people because they are not entirely right. Of course advertising works, it can make or break the image and sales of any product. The part that might be right is the exaggeration of the quality and benefits of a product. Companies need to be very careful with what they promise to the consumers. People buy things because of utility and promises that adverting might do.

A small example of this can be car dealerships. If dealerships are making advertising in the press or other types of media, they need to make sure that every offer is correct and if there is any disclaimer, they need to add it to the legal part of the artwork and/or offer to avoid any lawsuit.

Known Law Suits

Kellogg’s Must Pay $4Million After Falsely Advertising Mini-Wheats’

According to thinkprogress.org, in 2008 and 2009 Kellogg’s sold the Frosted Mini Wheat’s with the promise of improving kids’ attentiveness, memory, and other cognitive functions. In 2009, it was clinically shown to improve attentiveness by 11%. This caught the attention of the FTC, which filed a lawsuit to stop Kellogg’s from advertising such claims.

Kellogs could have avoided the lawsuit made by the FTC by not exaggerating the truth about the product.

Lawsuit accuses NakedJuice of misleading advertising

In 2011, Naked Juice and parent company PepsiCo where sued for advertising 100% natural juice but selling unnatural juice.

San Diego Mom vsNutella

Nutella paid customers who bought the product between January 2008 and February 2012 in the United States. The product advertised as “a healthy breakfast” but the 21 grams of sugar, 200 calories, and 11 grams of fat per serving said different. The San Diego mom was upset after giving the product her young daughter as breakfast and finding out the nutritional facts of the profuct.

The mother won the lawsuit and the Nutella company had to pay $3 million.