The Big Fat Marketing Blog

The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors today approved management’s request to move forward with its five-day mail delivery proposal and to file a request for an advisory opinion with the Postal Regulatory Commission on March 30. more

Having just gotten around to reading the January 24 article about best-selling novelist James Patterson in The New York Times Magazine (hey, I’ve been a bit busy), I was impressed by how many lessons marketers and merchants can learn from Patterson’s success.

Granted, I’ve never read a Patterson book. But apparently I’m in the minority. According to the article, since 2006, one out of every 17 hardcover novels bought in the U.S. was written or co-written by Patterson. So regardless of what you think about his plots and prose, Patterson is a commercial success. If you view the article as a marketing lesson, here are the takeaways:

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This Easter-related promotional e-mail from food gifts cataloger/retailer Harry & David won us over for several reasons:

1) The subject line stands out. Amid an inbox filled with subject lines screaming about money-saving offers (“SPRING SALE + LAST DAY FREE SHIPPING” from Overstock.com; “Free Shipping Plus NEW Lower Prices on Flea & Tick,” from Dog.com; “LAST DAY for Free Shipping on Our New Pink Label Styles,” from Shape FX), “Ear-resistible! Exclusive Easter Gifts They’ll Love…” kept me from automatically deleting the message. True, the call to action is subtle, and I’d love to see a test of this subject line against a harder seller. But the pun piqued my interest enough to lead me to open the message.

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Why is simple so difficult?

That’s a question I often think about. Early today (4:00 am) I was up and reading my email and came across a great, 2005 study on the power of simple copy. Its title: “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly” more

Why is simple so difficult?

That’s a question I often think about. Early today (4:00 am) I was up and reading my email and came across a great, 2005 study on the power of simple copy. Its title: “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly” more

It’s always interesting to check out a conference for the first time, and it’s always fun to come to Las Vegas. (Though I’ve also found it’s even more fun to leave Las Vegas.)

So I was happy to be covering the Merchant Risk Council’s E-Commerce Payments & Risk Conference on March 16-18. The only problem? more