http://thehopkinsonreport.com The Hopkinson Report is a weekly marketing podcast by Jim Hopkinson, Wired.com’s marketing guy. Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:25:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 The Hopkinson Report is a weekly marketing podcast by Jim Hopkinson, Wired.com’s marketing guy. no http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/11/20/living-the-lux-life/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/11/20/living-the-lux-life/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:11:49 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2842 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/11/20/living-the-lux-life/feed/ 0 Over the weekend of November 11th, I experienced what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I was fortunate to be chosen as one of several “new media influencers” to try out a new service called “Lux Delux.” But in reality, treating yourself to an amazing experience filled with top of the line customer service doesn’t have to be once-in-a-lifetime; Lux Delux aims to be the chosen service for anyone that wants this experience throughout the year. SETTING THE SCENE Location: Where else but Vegas, baby? When you’re talking over-the-top entertainment and anything goes, Las Vegas has to be one of the top destinations in the world. Our specific destination in the desert? The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. I had never stayed there before and it didn’t disappoint. The Hosts: Out hosts for the weekend were Lux Delux founder Andy Hsieh, social media guru Helen Todd, and a team of “Luxierges” making sure that everything went according to plan. The Speakers: Special guest speakers from Facebook, Foursquare, and the co-creator of Farmville. The Superheros: Why Superheros? I honestly felt like my fellow guests were assembled like some hand-picked team of social media all-stars. Each one of us had a special super power that they brought to the table, and by the end of the weekend we were all “superfriends.” The other distinction? Our “Hall of Justice” was in a casino hotel. Here are just a few: Benedict Corpuz is a world-traveling flight attendant that lives on Foursquare. He tells us that the San Francisco Airport is the #1 destination for check-ins (more than 400,000), and he holds the lofty title of being the mayor. Want proof? He has 58 check-ins there in the last 60 days. While the entire group is very active (hyperactive?) on Twitter, Calvin Lee has racked up some impressive numbers for an individual, with more than 70,000 followers and 150,000 tweets send. In comparison, I’m at 3,300 and 2,300 respectively. My former co-worker Sara Zucker is an amazing fashion blogger and a Tumblr God. When not acting as the Community Manager for Glamour, her Tumblr account is followed by more than 40,000 people for the latest news and style. Christine Martinez is a power user for a service you may not even know about, Pinterest. This service is an “online pinboard” and serves as a way to collect, organize, and share things you love from around the web. Never heard of it? Better get going… Christine already has more than 700,000 followers. Myself and the other attendees had similar superpowers, providing expertise in blogging, Facebook, fashion, travel, and all things social media. It was the first event where having your phone out, taking photos, tweeting, checking in, and texting was not considered rude, it wasn’t frowned upon, and it wasn’t done on occasion under the table… it was HIGHLY ENCOURAGED and EXPECTED, and done constantly. Don’t worry though, we’re trained professionals in multitasking. The experience I’d like to start out with a quote that I will paraphrase from Gary Vaynerchuk, a strong proponent of customer service. I believe he ranted about this when I saw him speak at SXSW a few years back, saying “The level of customer service at companies is so terrible these days, that when someone like Zappos comes along and really focuses on it, people are completely blown away.” What he is saying is not a commentary on how good the culture at Zappos is (it’s amazing), but how bad it is everywhere else. This gives companies that want to focus on a top of the line experience a huge opportunity in any market. It doesn’t matter if you are selling shoes and accessories online, wine and liquor (Gary’s family business), books, consulting, and speeches (Gary’s individual company), or a trip to Vegas… FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. And that’s exactly what Lux Delux has done. During our round-table discussion, we were trying to pinpoint on a fitting description — a luxury [...] Over the weekend of November 11th, I experienced what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I was fortunate to be chosen as one of several “new media influencers” to try out a new service called “Lux Delux.” But in reality, treating [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/19/episode-153-pentecost-how-to-write-self-publish-and-market-a-religious-thriller-that-kills-on-amazon-even-if-you-work-in-it/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/19/episode-153-pentecost-how-to-write-self-publish-and-market-a-religious-thriller-that-kills-on-amazon-even-if-you-work-in-it/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 00:14:19 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2464 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/19/episode-153-pentecost-how-to-write-self-publish-and-market-a-religious-thriller-that-kills-on-amazon-even-if-you-work-in-it/feed/ 2 Today I interview Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn and self-published author of the religious thriller, Pentecost. - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below: For the full interview — a must-listen for anyone wanting to self-publish their own book — please listen to the podcast. Summary of Topics covered: Joanna’s amazing journey Joanna Penn has had quite an amazing journey from the UK and a Theology major at Oxford (hence the religious thriller), all the way to New Zealand and Australia, and now back to the UK. As a full-time IT employee, she started her writing career with non-fiction books such as How To Enjoy Your Job and the basic ways of marketing. She once tried to do the full-time author route and take an extended period of time off in order to write “The Great American (Australian?) Novel,” and tried signing on with traditional publishers, but it didn’t pan out. Intrigued with the rise of digital publishing, print-on-demand, and using social media as a marketing platform, she started a blog and podcast called The Creative Penn. Joanna immersed herself in everything going on in the industry, and became a trusted source for information, while also interviewing dozens of authors. One recent post broke down the current publishing landscape into four quadrants: Eventually, her writing solution was to go to her employer and reduce her workweek to 4 days per week, freeing up more time to work on her religious thriller, Pentecost. Joanna then takes us through … 8 steps needed to self-publish a book 1. Choose your topic Joanna always wanted to write fiction, and got her inspiration in Venice at the Pentecost dome at St. Marks. Pro tip: All the top authors think in terms of a series… building a story around a character that readers can follow from story to story. Hook ‘em once, and they’re you’re audience for many books to come. 2. Editing Joanna stressed the importance of hiring a pro editor. Yes, you can go through your own work, but you’ll miss something. Pro tip: Release chapters and ideas out to your readers… they’ll help you out, feel involved, and become your biggest fans. 3. Design Book cover design is very important. Joanna used a freelancer at Thebookdesigner.com. Pro tip: Once again, crowdsouce. Joanna posted several versions of her book cover online and let her readers vote. The winner surprised her, but was rated most favorable by a margin of 20%. 4. Formatting Getting the book into the right format can be a pain… pay someone to do it. Pro tip: Check out Smashwords.com. 5. Upload your book go Amazon Head to Kdp.amazon.com… it’s free to to upload in Kindle format, and your book will be live in 24 hours! Pro tip: The Kindle has the largest marketshare of eBooks 6. Pricing Joanna started her book out at $2.99, the average price for indie books and based on a lot of research by excellent author/blogger Joe Konrath. Pro tip: She dropped the price to 99 cents because her goal was to get the biggest audience with her first book, not make the most money. Sales took off. 7. Tracking sales Two keys to success on Amazon are reviews and sales. The book rose to #2 in religious fiction, #2 in action adventure, and #300 overall. Pro tip: Once Amazon’s algorithm gets involved it will start recommending the book to other buyers 8. Marketing an eBook on Amazon As any good marketer knows, its good to be everywhere. She has the following: - Website - Podcast - Blog Interviews - Twitter - Trying for awards - Appearing on TV - Public speaking - And a book trailer   Pro tips: - Her favorite marketing avenue is on Twitter: @TheCreativePenn - Don’t spend too much money on traditional advertising - Check out Kindle Nation Daily, which Joanna used, with sponsorships for $99 to $299 Final Summary: - Success breeds success. Do well on Amazon, get good reviews, get good rankings, and it becomes a snowball effect. - [...] Today I interview Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn and self-published author of the religious thriller, Pentecost. - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below: For the full [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/12/episode-152-finding-your-superhero-origins-michael-margolis-explains-how-to-craft-a-better-about-me-page/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/12/episode-152-finding-your-superhero-origins-michael-margolis-explains-how-to-craft-a-better-about-me-page/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 23:06:55 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2448 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/12/episode-152-finding-your-superhero-origins-michael-margolis-explains-how-to-craft-a-better-about-me-page/feed/ 1 Today I interview Michael Margolis, and he tells us how to tap into your superhero origins to create the most important page on your website – your About Me page. - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below: Podcast Transcript: 5/10/2011 Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson; I’m your Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome! Today I interview Michael Margolis, and he tells us how to tap into your “superhero origins” to create the most important page on your website, your “About Me” page. Jim Hopkinson: Hey everybody, this is Jim, welcome to the podcast. Today I have a fantastic guest, Michael Margolis, who is the dean of Story University and the creator of a new program called, “The New About Me.”  So, welcome, Michael. Michael Margolis: Hey, what’s happening, Jim? JH: So, you’re kind of out on a personal mission to help people reinvent their bio as a story. So, talk about that for a second. MM: Yeah, you know, I think part of it for me is; I sort of think about this as personal branding minus the icky stuff. I started realizing my own journey over the last few years; I went through a lot of reinvention in my career, and I’d always been a story teller. But part of what was missing for me is I think personal branding, in many ways, it’s sort of has made a lot of us kind of feel kind of gross. Or sort of like, “Ahhh, do I have to be that obnoxious person who’s like, look at me, look at me, aren’t I cool?” Jim, I don’t know if you realize how much of a big deal I really am. JH: [Laughter] Yeah, do you have a podcast, do you have like an icon with your photo on it, like I do? “Look at me, right?” MM: Well, unfortunately, actually, I do like, I’ve got T-shirts and I’ve got mugs and I’ve got a manifesto and a blog, and I’ve got all sorts of stuff. But, it’s less about having the stuff and it’s more about your persona and how do you share more about who you are in a way that people can actually connect with you and relate to you. JH: Yeah, cause it’s really hard right now, a lot of people have used social media to do this, right? It’s a great thing – you can have your own podcast, your own blog, you can have a Tumblr account and do videos, and it’s a great thing and you want to share this, but, you don’t want to be “that guy”, right? MM: Exactly. JH: How do you strike that balance? MM: Yeah, so I’ve learned a lot really looking at the essential principles at the heart of storytelling. OK, so there are a few things that you can start thinking about this, number one, most of us, when you look at most people’s bios, let’s just get some things out of the way. JH: Yup. MM: Unless, you’re a celebrity or a CEO with a big entourage and/or a publicist… We all know you wrote your bio! JH: [Laughter] MM: OK, you’re not fooling anybody with this third person voice that we all go through, right, so that’s the dirty little secret to this. When we’re reading people’s bios, and of course, right, the bio, your About page, is the number one page people visit on a website after they go to the homepage. So, people are looking at your About page and all the other social media stuff you have out there, right? Those are all the bread crumbs that take people back to your website and to your About page. People read that About page and they go, “Huh, is this person a [d-bag]? Is this person full of himself or can I relate to them? Can I myself, do I want to be in a relationship with this person?” JH: Exactly. And we jumped right into it, so, almost back to exactly what you said. People have these platforms up now; who are the types of people you’re trying to reach? Are they authors, speakers…? MM: Here’s what I started to think about which is, [...] Today I interview Michael Margolis, and he tells us how to tap into your superhero origins to create the most important page on your website – your About Me page. - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/05/episode-151-wired-business-conference-2011-6-lessons-from-the-worlds-best-leaders/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/05/episode-151-wired-business-conference-2011-6-lessons-from-the-worlds-best-leaders/#comments Wed, 04 May 2011 19:39:23 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2429 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/05/05/episode-151-wired-business-conference-2011-6-lessons-from-the-worlds-best-leaders/feed/ 0 Jim gives his take from the Wired Business Conference - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below: On Tuesday May 3 I had the privilege of attending the third annual Wired Business Conference in New York City, “live tweeting” from the @WiredBiz Twitter account. A lot went on and there were some impressive speakers with fantastic insights. In the podcast, I look at 6 take-aways from some of the world’s best thought-leaders: Speaker: Bill Gates Takeaway: Money+Brains = a good thing I came away very impressed with Mr. Gates. He said that the amount of IQ being spent thinking about energy now vs 20 years ago is night and day. I’m glad that he is one of the brains thinking about this. Look, Bill spent 25 years as CEO of Microsoft. He made more money than just about anyone on the planet (he was the world’s wealthiest man for 13 straight years from 1995-2007). And now he is on to something new. And let me tell you, I was impressed with how passionate and knowledgeable he was about everything from solar panels to nuclear, with a lot of big words in between that I didn’t understand. My favorite quote though, “You really don’t want to mess with hydrogen.” Speakers: Harj Taggar from Y Combinator / Chris Sacca from Lowercase Capital Takeaway: Are we in a startup bubble? These two speakers were well teamed, combining a firm specializing in finding new startups, and a venture capital partner that had invested in Photobucket and Twitter. Are we in a startup bubble right now? Here’s their take… Right now the problem is that “it’s cool to be an angel investor.” Therefore, it is bringing a lot of uneducated people with extra money to burn and they are just throwing it at companies and hoping something will hit instead of doing the homework. They said at startup meetups… “There used to be a dozen, maybe two dozen guys mulling around these business plans writing checks. Now there’s hundreds. It’s a train, and it’s kind of running away.” They talk about the culture in Silicon Valley, and how vested employees from Google/Facebook/Twitter are funding the next generation of startups… it’s in their DNA to give back. Chris also joked about the “3 stages of wealth” 1) From debt to $0 (getting out from under college loans just to be even) 2) From $0 to $25k (having enough money to be able to go out to eat once in awhile) 3) From $25k to $100k (realizing that if your current startup fails, you have a big enough cushion to start your next one) So with so many people just throwing money around and not looking at the proper metrics, How do the best spot a good startup? “We try to find people that have the spark of insanity.” Speaker: Mick Mountz, Kiva Systems Takeaway: Robots will take over the world, or at least your online order This one was tough to explain on the podcast, but the videos showing the automated robotic order packing system that companies like Zappos, Diapers.com, and Staples uses was insane. The video below isn’t the same one they showed, but you get the idea. Speaker: Sal Khan, Khan Academy Takeaway: Your kid’s new teacher is YouTube “YouTube’s for dogs on skateboards not serious mathematics… but kids said they liked me better on YouTube ” -on Khan Academy’s start At any given second, 15 questions are being answered on Khan Academy, and there’s a reason. The “blackboard over video” format is highly engaging and lets students go at their own pace. What’s more, the backend database allows teachers to instantly pinpoint which students are doing fine, but which are stuck and need more help. Speaker: Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix Takeaway: Faster video is coming Reed addressed a question I always ask, “When can I cut the cord on Cable?” Well, he said people keep cable because of live sports, news events, and … reality TV (which is like sports for drama since you have to [...] Jim gives his take from the Wired Business Conference - Download the podcast via iTunes - Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below: On Tuesday May 3 I had the privilege of attending the third annual Wired [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/27/episode-150-high-tech-and-new-media-in-the-auto-industry-%e2%80%93-real-advancement-or-just-lots-of-bling/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/27/episode-150-high-tech-and-new-media-in-the-auto-industry-%e2%80%93-real-advancement-or-just-lots-of-bling/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:13:23 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2407 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/27/episode-150-high-tech-and-new-media-in-the-auto-industry-%e2%80%93-real-advancement-or-just-lots-of-bling/feed/ 1 Jim gives his observations from the NY Auto Show. Is the industry advancing, or is it all just marketing bling? Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Episode #150! Thanks to everyone that has read the blog and listened to the podcast over the years. It seems things have come full circle… In Episode #1 of the Hopkinson Report podcast, I compared the iPhone to a Porsche, and asked, “Has the iPhone reached ‘no substitute’ status?” Well, the iPhone is still going strong, with Apple on track to make $100 billion dollars in 2011. It sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, an eye-popping 113 percent increase over last year, destroying Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 16.6 million units. As for Porsche, I get to them a little later. When I talk about marketing cars, I think the interesting thing is that companies have to market them all the time. A user might buy a car only once every 3, 5, or even 10 years, so car companies have to be building this brand and trust constantly. Let me give you a personal example. My aging parents were looking for a car to replace their aging 1999 Toyota Camry. Since I love cars, love research, and love negotiating, I was excited at the challenge. I narrowed it down to four basic car companies that they would lease: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai. The truth is, I knew I really couldn’t go wrong, as all the cars were virtually identical when it came to price, options, features, and gas mileage. Here was what I decided on: Toyota Camry – Looked solid all around, but in the end I had limited time and didn’t even get to test drive the Camry. While others might have said, “I love the Camry, let me just upgrade models from 1999 to 2011,” in our case it was kind of the opposite. We felt that going from one Camry to the next was kind of boring. Why not mix it up a bit. Honda Accord – Speaking of boring, you can’t get more safe than the Accord. This isn’t a bad thing… it’s a safe bet, very reliable, and has been around for decades. But since this was a lease, I was a little less concerned about resale value. In the end, I steered away from the Accord because I didn’t like the experience in the showroom with the sales reps, and it was more expensive. Ford Fusion – To their credit, a strong marketing presence in the past few years was enough just to get Ford into the Final Four. I’m not sure I would have considered this car a few years ago. A strong effort, but not quite enough. Hyundai Sonata – In the end it was the Hyundai Sonata that did just enough of the little things right to put it over the top in this competitive battle. - First, the experience was good. The dealership was professional without playing any “let me talk to my manager” bull**** and the sales rep was very straightforward. - Next was styling. To me, the car just looked much more stylish. Like a brand new 2011 look and feel, as opposed to a continually updated model each year. - The interior was solid and had a great feel - It had a better base engine… 190hp vs 169, 177, and 175 with the others. - The negotiated price was right But enough about the stats, what about the marketing? When I looked back at my blog and podcast, I had talked about Hyundai in episode 23, 28, 52 (coverage of the 2009 Auto Show), 91, and 140. That’s five times over 3 years, some good, some bad, but they were top of mind. You know what? That’s true marketing. Earned marketing. Multiple mediums. Lots of trust built and money spent. But I’m a little worried about the auto industry going for the quick fix. When it’s fake, you can see right through it. Here are 7 examples of what could be too much marketing bling: (summary below… listen to the podcast for full descriptions) 1) Bling Car See the photo at the top of the post. This car was made purely for bling value and to bring attention to it, so that’s transparent at least. 2) Spokespeople The uber coiffed and [...] Jim gives his observations from the NY Auto Show. Is the industry advancing, or is it all just marketing bling? Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Episode #150! Thanks to everyone that has read the blog and listened to the podcast [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/21/episode-149-interview-alexis-ohanian-talks-reddit-kiva-breadpig-and-new-travel-site-hipmunk/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/21/episode-149-interview-alexis-ohanian-talks-reddit-kiva-breadpig-and-new-travel-site-hipmunk/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:41:33 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2383 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/21/episode-149-interview-alexis-ohanian-talks-reddit-kiva-breadpig-and-new-travel-site-hipmunk/feed/ 0 Jim interviews uber entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Three years. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this podcast for that long, but on April 16 2008, The Hopkinson Report was born. Just 2 weeks later on April 30, I recorded my very first podcast interview ever, speaking with Alexis Ohanian about their up-and-coming site reddit.com. It’s interesting to go back to Episode #3 (and 4) and hear where reddit was at the time, and also just how new and nervous I was with the whole process. So, it was with great pleasure that I got to sit down with Alexis this week for Episode #149 and compare notes, as we’ve both come a long way. Reflecting back on reddit years later, I asked: How have things changed since you started reddit? What would have you done differently? How did they just pull off 1 billion page views with just 6 employees? What was reddit’s theory on development and iteration? What was the key takeaway as a founder of reddit? Then as Alexis puts it, like any successfully-exiting startup founder, the next logical step was to flee the country. However, he did it the right way… Visiting his family’s homeland in Armenia as a Kiva fellow: We talk about exactly what Kiva does How can a goat herder buy more goats What is the most important thing for a borrower to do in their application Then we move on to talk about his latest venture… Travel site Hipmunk.com I think it is fantastic that they are taking on such an established industry and trying to make travel planning fun and easy. Frankly, the transition from travel agents, paper tickets, and having to CALL multiple airlines to compare costs to having a site like Orbitz launch in 2001 was so huge, that we’ve let them off the hook in terms of innovation over the last 10 years. Take one feature as an example: Hipmunk HIDES search results that no human would possibly ever take. On the flipside, here is a result I was able to find on Orbitz today (Click for larger image) Please find the person that wants to go from New York to San Francisco this weekend, and is willing to pay $1000 to: 1) Take Frontier Airlines to Denver 2) Have a layover for an hour and 13 minutes 3) Return on Continental, taking a redeye to Cleveland! 4) Have a layover for two hours and 13 minutes 5) Then continuing from Cleveland to New York Again… for $1000! We go on to talk about: - The David vs Goliath mentality - Origins (Having an international debating champion from MIT helps) - The agony of the connecting flight or the O’Hare layover in winter - Ecstasy rankings for hotels… not just the cheapest but the best one for your dollar, including reviews and amenities such as free WiFi - Aha… “Hipmunk moments” - How they are marketing the new site, and how has that changed from reddit (Hint: it’s the exact same marketing plan as reddit, but easier) - The “Hipmunk me” Facebook social media marketing plan One of the features they have is really cool…. a “Hotel Heatmap” overlay for shopping (girls trip to Miami?), tourism (family trip to San Diego?), and yes, vice (bachelor party in San Francisco?). Click for larger image: Lastly, we discuss Breadpig, which of course is a pig with bread for wings. - Actually, it’s a “Neuman’s own for nerds” - Not salad dressing, but book publishing and LOLcat fridge magnets - We discuss the false assumptions that surprised him in the traditional publishing space - How the XKCD web comic went from reddit darling to published book (or, why would an online web comic do a dead tree book?) Links from this show: Hipmunk Reddit Kiva Breadpig Alexis: Blog | Twitter Jim: Twitter More » Jim interviews uber entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Three years. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this podcast for that long, but on April 16 2008, The Hopkinson Report was born. Just 2 weeks [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/14/episode-148-interview-ross-mclean-of-ad-agency-draftfcb/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/14/episode-148-interview-ross-mclean-of-ad-agency-draftfcb/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:34:59 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2371 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/14/episode-148-interview-ross-mclean-of-ad-agency-draftfcb/feed/ 0 Jim interviews Ross McLean, Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Recorded at SXSW Interactive in March, I sat down with Ross McLean, who is the Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb in Chicago to talk all things digital marketing. In the interview, we discuss: - Thoughts on SXSW Our impressions in year 2 (Ross) and year 3 (Jim) at SXSW. Will it keep getting bigger? Will it jump the shark? Where is the conference going? Will it outgrow Austin? - Goals for Draftfcb at SXSW What they hope to learn Why it’s important to attend conferences like these - The amount of time you have get a customer’s attention — JUST 6.5 SECONDS! Consumers have less time and tolerance for ads What they need to do grab a customer in those 6.5 seconds How marketers can extend that connection time - Case study: Staying on brand with Coors Lite What is their core message? How do you extend that? How do you align the message with consumer expectations? - Tips that smaller brands can learn from big brands Having your voice Staying relevant Have a point of view - Two iPhone apps that Draftfcb has created for the marketplace 1) Heat Tracker: GeoLocation app that uses FourSquare check-ins to show what places are hot Why single men or women might want to check out Heat Tracker 2) An “over-the-shoulder” app that lets consumers give direct feedback from their smartphone back to advertisers Why people would volunteer to be part of this program More » Jim interviews Ross McLean, Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: Recorded at SXSW Interactive in March, I sat down with Ross McLean, who is the Executive VP / Group [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/07/episode-147-the-10-people-you-need-to-successfully-publish-or-self-publish-a-book/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/07/episode-147-the-10-people-you-need-to-successfully-publish-or-self-publish-a-book/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:39:33 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2357 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/04/07/episode-147-the-10-people-you-need-to-successfully-publish-or-self-publish-a-book/feed/ 1 To successfully publish (or self publish) a book, you need the right team behind you. Here are the 10 people you need to know. Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: When I announced on the podcast several weeks ago that I had landed a book deal, I promised that I wouldn’t talk about it unless there was a topic that I felt I was bringing true value to you, the listener. Of course, that’s always in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, but I think with the success of the iPad and the Kindle, the digital revolution we’ve seen as people are producing their own podcasts, videos, music, blogs, and photography with consumer level tools, that there has to be people in my audience saying… “I’ve always wanted to publish something.” There are a few scenarios how that could unfold: - Maybe your dream is to have a physical book sitting in a Barnes & Noble just so you can say you did it - Or you want to have a PDF download of poems that your friends can read - Perhaps you need to make technical whitepapers available for your business to help educate your customers - Or you want to build and sell some kind of information product, in search of huge online profits so you can retire to Buenos Aires and work four hours per week. The key for me is that I try to give advice on this podcast, not just from what I THINK should be a good idea, but from personal experience. So if you are someone out there that wants to publish something, whether it’s on your own, with a publisher, for pleasure or for profit, I can now speak from a little big of experience, and relay that to you, the reader: The 10 people you need to successfully publish (or self publish) a book. [Summarized from the podcast] 1. Agent a. Not needed if you are self-publishing, but boy did he make it easy to have an in with the big boys. As I told in my story, I was amazingly fortunate to get hooked up with Jim Levine and thus didn’t spend a year pitching agents or camping out in front of their office, so I don’t know the other side. But the experience has been worth it. 2. Accountant a. For years I did my own taxes, but not anymore. For many people, self-publishing for profit, or getting an advance from a true publisher means a new revenue stream and often times a new business venture. At a certain point you want to bring in a pro. 3. Lawyer a. Accountants and lawyers? That’s no fun. Know what also isn’t fun? Paying legal fees. But in this case, I avoided my normal “Jim research mode” and just bit the bullet and paid whatever I had to. There were fees for setting up my own business, Hopkinson Creative Media, LLC. And then there were extortion fees from the city and state of New York to make that legal entity valid. Don’t worry as much if you are outside the big apple. b. Explain what an LLC is – limited liability company. I’m not a lawyer, but it does two things: insulates you a bit from lawsuits, allows you to write off expenses. c. Can you set up your own LLC for less on a site like LegalZoom? Of course. Many people do, I chose not to. Can you incorporate for less money in a state like Delaware? Many people do, I chose not to. Can you skip making up a company altogether? Many people do, I chose not to. d. And then there was the other lawyer I had to pay to make sure Salary Tutor wasn’t being used by anyone else. Remember, just because you have the URL, doesn’t mean you own the trademark. In this case, there were a few levels of background checks they could do. I chose the middle level. 4.) Print Designer a. See Episode 144: How Designer Erin Fitzsimmons Helped Me Go From PDF to Published to see the value of a print designer. If you’re making a straight novel for the Kindle, you can get away with a basic cover. But I went all out. 5. Web Designer a. Yes, we’re talking about books here, but even if you have a book in a bookstore, you need a web presence. This task was [...] To successfully publish (or self publish) a book, you need the right team behind you. Here are the 10 people you need to know. Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: When I announced on the podcast several weeks ago that I had landed a [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/31/episode-146-interview-entrepreneur-john-murch-of-ublanket-com-says-jfdi/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/31/episode-146-interview-entrepreneur-john-murch-of-ublanket-com-says-jfdi/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:38:21 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2344 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/31/episode-146-interview-entrepreneur-john-murch-of-ublanket-com-says-jfdi/feed/ 0 This week I interview entrepreneur John Murch and his motto, JFDI. Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: John Murch is a good friend and well, a lot like me. He’s a geek at heart, a fellow Computer Science major, and his interests include SEO, entrepreneurship, Tim Ferriss, cars, the iPad, SXSW, and helping others with their projects. We co-founded a meetup group called NYC Masterminds to bring together people in the world of design, social media, internet marketing, programming, and app development, and well, if we could just find some more time away from working on our projects, we’d host more meetings. The intention of our meetup group was to help people find and develop side projects and get them off the ground. For me, it was my salary negotiation class, which eventually became an eBook, and then was picked up by a mainstream publisher (Salary Tutor goes live on Amazon on April 1, 2011!). John has a very different and unique product: uBlanket, a site that allows you to take your old favorite t-shirts and convert them into the ultimate curl-up-on-your-couch-and-watch-The-Dark-Night blanket. The concept is simple… we all have some old t-shirts that we don’t wear anymore, but can’t bear to get rid of. They may be old fraternity/sorority shirts that hold special meaning, a collection of t-shirts from running races or triathlons, a souvenir from the 1996 Olympics, or the time you saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1991. In the interview, we talk about: - His straightforward entrepreneurial attitude; how JFDI — just freaking do it — keeps him focused and allows him to create sites within hours, not weeks or months - The incredible story of how he and his co-founder went from idea to concept to revenue-generating business in such a short amount of time - The topics include the programming language used, the shopping cart checkout system, the website design template, the unique customer-facing offline/online production system they created, and yes, even how to find a quality seamstress - John gives tips on marketing a startup, from simple postcards that can be handed out to interested users, getting noticed in the startup community, to being featured on MSNBC television - There’s also a charity element: With each uBlanket order, there is extra shirt material created. Instead of just throwing it away, uBlanket uses it to make blankets for homeless children throughout the country. They have partnered with Project Night Night, a non-profit organization serving over 25,000 children each year, to help distribute these blankets. - He also is trying some unique advertising from one of my favorite guerilla marketing companies (Hint: It involves t-shirts and I interviewed them in Episode 73). Don’t just sit there, listen to the podcast, then click to learn more: uBlanket.com | Demo uBlanket on Facebook More » This week I interview entrepreneur John Murch and his motto, JFDI. Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: John Murch is a good friend and well, a lot like me. He’s a geek at heart, a fellow Computer Science major, and his interests [...] http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/24/episode-145-how-to-host-a-successful-sponsored-event/ http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/24/episode-145-how-to-host-a-successful-sponsored-event/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:49:56 +0000 admin http://thehopkinsonreport.com/?p=2324 http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2011/03/24/episode-145-how-to-host-a-successful-sponsored-event/feed/ 2 This week a do a quick SXSW recap then talk about how to host a successful sponsored party Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: First, a one-takeaway SXSW recap of a few speakers (all quotes paraphrased by me): Seth Priebatsch of SCVNGR “The last decade was about social… about making connections… and Facebook won. The next wave is gameification… adding a gaming level to the social layer… about your influence.” Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple “In business meetings, dress for a ‘tie’… if you show up wearing ripped jeans a hoodie to a formal meeting where everyone else is wearing suits, you’re saying ‘I don’t respect you’… if you show up wearing a suit and oozing style to a casual meeting where everyone else is dressed down, you’re saying ‘I am better than you’… shoot for a relatively even match.” (Although not sure a certain jeans and black-turtleneck-wearing CEO would always agree). Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Body When asked to Richard Branson, world-famous entrepreneur, creative-thinker, and businessperson, to answer the question ‘How do you become more productive?’… Branson gave a simple two word answer: ‘work out’.” Blake Mycoskie, founder of Tom’s Shoes “It’s OK to support charity with a for-profit business… think about how you can incorporate giving into your business… it’s amazing how your employees and everyone around you will respond.” OK, How do you throw a successful sponsored event? The cool part of my job at Wired was I got to host not one but TWO events at SXSW. The first was an “entrepreneurs dinner,” sponsored by Starbucks and hosted by myself and Adam Brotman, their Vice President of Digital Ventures. Adam and I went through a few of the emerging trends we were seeing at SXSW, along with case studies for how Starbucks is reaching out to their users with social media, loyalty programs, and their Starbucks Digital Network. It was great to work with a company that “gets it,” and are using technology to reach out to customers, create a better experience, and even work on shortening the lines. Additionally, I got to invite a rock star lineup of entrepreneurs. (Click on their name to learn more about them) Michael Margolis CC Chapman Sarah Prevette Saul Colt Sarah Wilbore Helen Todd John Murch Adam Wallace Jason Sadler Twanna Hines Mike Davidson Jonathan Fields Stephen Johnson Kevin Bluer The key items to throwing a great dinner event, as discussed in the podcast, are: Right event Right sponsor Right location Right people Right food and drink Adjusting to audience Leave them with something Keep it going The key items to throwing a great happy hour, as discussed in the podcast via the “5 rights” and “5 Ps”, are: The Wired Happy Hour at SXSW attracted a huge crowd Right sponsors Right location Right people Right day and time Right amount of food and drink Props Prizes Preparation Promotion Peace, not Panic I’d love to write more, but since I’m catching up at work after a week off, you’ll need to listen to the whole podcast to get the tips, and check out the photos below. I gave away a ton of swag from Griffin Technology Users scramble to show me a Foursquare check-in from Starbucks, our primary sponsor, which resulted in a $100 Starbucks Gift Card. 100s of Wired fans struck a post courtesy of The Studio Booth More » This week a do a quick SXSW recap then talk about how to host a successful sponsored party Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below: First, a one-takeaway SXSW recap of a few speakers (all quotes paraphrased by me): Seth Priebatsch of [...]