The Gentle Art of Offending People
Last week, my editor assigned me an article on “the many types and uses of fabric.” I worried whether I’d be able to make the topic interesting. I had no idea my work would create a scandal.
The offending sentence: “Humans began wearing clothing made from spun fibers as long as 500,000 years ago, becoming the only animals to ever do so.”
This sparked a fury of emails, protesting my insinuation that humans are animals. We can’t run this! We’d lose advertisers! And biblically speaking, the earth isn’t nearly that old!
I’m not out to criticize anyone’s beliefs (though anyone who believes that humans aren’t animals obviously hasn’t been to my gym.) Rather, I want to show how easy it is to offend people without even trying.
WTF & Other Moral Quandaries
These days, I try hard NOT to offend people. I used to let it all hang out. Then I took a full-time job, and started rethinking the f-bombs sprinkling my Facebook status updates.
Is it OK to swear? What about insinuating a swear word, like WTF or FML? Was the word “hell” OK, or was that verboten, too? There are health benefits at stake, people! Continue reading
How Marketing Can Save the Twinkie
When I heard that Hostess had gone bankrupt for the second time since 2004, my mind started spinning with possibility. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a commercial, print advertisement or other promotion for Hostess Twinkies. Could marketing save the brand?
I wrote a blog post about it over at JPL, where I work as a copywriter. Check it out, and let me know what you think!
There’s Nothing Quite Like a Real Book: The Secret Life of Bookstores
Last Inspired Marketing Friday, I challenged you to document the creation of your products in a unique way. This week, I bring you a bookseller that uses merchandise to provide a kinetic feast for the eyes, while combating online competition.
As of this post, the video has been seen nearly 1,300,000 times — and I suspect it has increased foot traffic and sales. Heck, if I lived in Toronto, I’d definitely visit Type Books and make a purchase or two.
For another boost of inspiration, visit the store’s website to see how it integrated the video into its homepage design. It’s an immersive experience that will surely create lots of fans.
What’s been inspiring YOU this week? It doesn’t have to be a video — it could be an awesome sales letter, a clever squeeze page or even a blog post. Let me know in the comments section below.
Encourage New Generations of Women Entrepreneurs: Become a Role Model
Becky Canary-King is an account manager and press contact at Direct Incorporation, a company focused on providing a more economical and efficient alternative to using a law firm for common legal/entrepreneurial issues.
A recent study in the Journal of Economic Psychology posits that women have a lower preference for becoming self-employed.
Is it just that women are under-motivated? I don’t think so. Could it be a lack of role models for young female entrepreneurs? After all, women make up only 3% of CEOS on the Forbes list of 500 biggest companies.
Whatever the reason, you can help change this, by inspiring future generations of women to embrace the benefits of small business ownership. Here are four suggestions to get you started.
1. Share your story. During my Girls Scouts days, our troop was visited by a female sales manager, architect and local politician. Seeing women in a wider range of career than usually depicted on TV really broaden my ideas on who I could be when I grow up. Continue reading
