Mike Sutyak | marketing and new media

I’m on to the next iteration of my life…

I started working with my friend Gary Schoeniger almost a year ago on a project called The Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative (eli). Over the last six months, we’ve partnered with the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute and have been creating a course for their global initiative. We’ve also been fortunate enough to gain three more amazing people to join our team.

We’ve been interviewing entrepreneurs over the past few months from Northeast Ohio, as well as several who happened to be in town.

It’s been incredible to say the least…

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter…

It’s that trap most of us fall into: the curse of knowledge. Nothing’s worse than the “deer-in-the-headlights” look when speaking with a potential client. I’ve gotten much better at spotting it and stopping myself before I continue to talk over people’s heads. Everyone knows their own business and all the intricate details involved. The trick is figuring out what needs our business fills and relating that to others who could potentially use our products or services.

Case in point. One of my basic services as an online marketing consultant is search engine optimization. When speaking with a potential client, learning about where they are in their online marketing efforts is a good way to gauge what their knowledge of the subject is. If they start off by telling me that they had a web site built 10 years ago and can’t figure out why they haven’t gotten any business from it, I know I’ve got to start from square one for the most part. If they tell me they have several keywords running on an AdWords campaign, I know they’re farther along and will most likely have a general idea of the process.

It’s real easy for all of us to talk shop with fellow coworkers or others in our field. If the purpose of our marketing materials (web site, blog, etc.) is to sell our products or services to others who are very comfortable with the jargon, then by all means talk it up! In this case it’s essential that they’re comfortable with our level of understanding because they already have a high level of understanding themselves. It’s not to say that in other capacities our level of understanding isn’t important, of course it is. It’s how we connect with those who may not have a very high level of understanding that’s the trick. The way to connect is to find out what their needs are and explain to them exactly how we can help them in a way that’s not going to glaze their eyes over.

I’m a huge Radiohead fan. I visited their site today with a pleasant surprise. They are releasing their new album in 10 days.

What really impressed me was the price: “It’s Up to You“.

Radiohead currently has no label so they will receive 100% of their album sales. Most artists under contract with major record labels receive a little over 10% of the actual album price. So from a financial standpoint they really can’t do much worse.

I’m not going to discount the fact that this unprecedented act of a major artist bucking the music industry will undoubtedly receive a ton of exposure.

Beyond the issues Radiohead has with the record label dominance of the music industry, what this really is at its core is faith in their product - viral marketing in its truest form. Put out a remarkable, quality product and people will gladly do the marketing for you through word of mouth.

People can pay £1 if they choose to, which I’m sure a few will. My bet is that most will pay at least what they would for a regular album and a good amount will pay more. Why? Appreciation for their honesty and the fact that they’ve consistently put out quality music. Any fan will pay for that.

How many of your “fans” can you say would do the same?

Up until this week, my bank was Sky Bank. Sky Bank was recently purchased by Huntington and they officially switched over to Huntington this past Monday. The transition seemed as though it would be smooth. That is, until I received an email regarding my online banking for Huntington:

Step 1: Verify System Requirements

Browser Requirement
Internet Explorer 5.5 and above

Operating Systems Supported
Windows 2000
Windows XP

Alright, that’s going to be a problem. I do have a MacBook Pro which has the ability to run Windows. That doesn’t mean I want to fire up Windows every time I need to check my bank account online. I don’t run Windows unless I absolutely have to and it’s just convenient to have the ability to do my online banking from the Mac OS.

I got a call from a Huntington online banking specialist asking why I hadn’t set up my online account. I let them know I am a Mac user and inquired as to what my options were. After checking with his manager, here is what he told me: “We advise that Mac users find access to a Windows based PC. Your other option is to contact Apple and talk to them about a workaround.”

Huntington Bank is not a small company. They have the resources to provide support for the Mac if they choose to. I understand that Windows users still make up roughly 90 percent of the population. Why alienate a potential market of users who are growing yearly though? Especially when you look at an average Mac user.

It never ceases to amaze me that this is still an issue. Five or even three years ago, maybe. With the growing number of users and interest in Apple, the iPod and iPhone, it just doesn’t seem to make sense. From a customer service standpoint, well, larger companies seem to do this all the time. From a marketing standpoint… I guess they just didn’t think it through.

Needless to say, if anyone knows of a bank that supports Mac online, I’m looking

Every business has a marketing effort in some capacity, and all the marketing materials are in need of design. Design is one of the most overlooked areas in business.

If you’re going to put the effort into creating a marketing tool, it just makes sense to engage whoever will see it. How many business cards or brochures have you thrown away without more than a glance? Why do you think they never had a chance?

The answer to those questions whether you consciously make that decision or not is design.

The implicit message has everything to do with whether or not someone will listen to what you have to say.

Here are 7 design pitfalls to avoid:

1) Straying away from your brand
When you put together your company brand (ie. logo, letterhead, web site, etc.), there were certain fonts and a basic color scheme. Stick to it. If you put out marketing materials that are not consistent with your brand, you’ve just created a gap between you and your audience. When they see that flyer or brochure and then head over to your web site, make sure they know they’re in the right place. This is all a part of the trust building process.

2) Multiple fonts, sizes and colors
Two different font types are good. It mixes it up a bit and adds some graphical dimension to your design. Beyond that, though, it tends to start convoluting things. Same goes for font sizes and color. If you vary the text sizes and color within one piece of marketing material too much it begins to subconsciously disconnect the reader. If you’re going to use different colored text, make sure it matches your color scheme.

3) Fancy hard to read fonts
There are plenty of cool fonts out there. If you’re planing on using a font for more than a name, title, or tag line at most, stick with the simple readable fonts. When reading, the more work your brain has to exert on making out what the words actually say the more likely you are to just stop reading altogether.

4) Bold everything
Bolding is a technique used to make important phrases or points stand out. When people have to look at an inordinate amount of marketing pieces every day, they tend to scan over it briefly first to see whether there’s any value in it. Their eyes are drawn to bolded terms or phrases. Use this to your advantage. If everything is bolded, in most cases they won’t read any of it because the importance of those phrases and points is completely lost, along with the fact that it’s harsh on your eyes!

5) Writing a novel
The least amount of information needed without leaving anything out. Sometimes it’s a tough tightrope you have to walk, but think of it this way: would you rather have them read a few important points or nothing at all? Overwhelm your audience and risk losing them.

6) No images or graphics
Give them something to look at besides words. Using images or graphics within a layout tends to break things up. If you have a page of text with nothing else it’s overwhelming to your brain (and boring). Make sure these images and/or graphics have some relevancy to your message and don’t over do it. Having too many images can have a negative effect as well. Striking that balance of information and imagery is key.

7) Be like everyone else
Wouldn’t you like to stand out from the crowd? Give your audience something that will make them tell someone else about you. If you give them something remarkable, they will spread the word faster than any marketing campaign you will ever come up with could. They will remember you the next time someone else brings up a need you fill and it may have nothing to do with whether or not they’ve even used your product or service themselves. Create that impression through your design.

The new iPod Touch and iPod Nano

I’m going to have to rename my blog soon to “Apple Man” or “Mac Daddy” or something clever… It doesn’t help that I haven’t had a chance to post in weeks due to vacation and heavy project load, but the fact of the matter is, it seems like Apple/Mac stories and reviews have dominated my posts recently.

Anyways…

Let’s start with the first issue that hits me personally: Steve Jobs announced yesterday that the price of the 8GB iPhone would be nearly cut in half to $399 while the 4GB model is discontinued altogether. The 4GB model getting axed was pretty much a no brainer… who’s not going to pay an extra $100 for twice the hard drive space? I personally don’t know anyone who even entertained the thought of buying the 4GB model.

Now the price cut of the 8GB is another story. I’m not going to lie and say that it didn’t completely annoy me when I found out initially. I stood in line for hours and paid the full $599 less than 10 weeks ago. Had it been 6 months to a year later, I’m sure I wouldn’t have cared at all.

After giving it more thought and letting the sting wear off, I put it into a marketing mindset:

Jobs and Apple also released the new iPod Touch which seems to be the iPhone minus the phone. It has some other limitations (no mail capabilities, maps, stocks or weather), but essentially it gives people the ability to have an iPhone without having to switch carriers or deal with AT&T. It also has the ability to connect to WiFi where available which gives users the ability to get on the web via Safari. The one thing it does have that I’m pretty envious of is a 16GB model.

One of my main reasons for buying the iPhone was having the ability to check mail from my phone so the iPhone to me personally would still make the most sense. Who wants an iPod and a separate phone anyways?

The new iPod Nano came out which is pretty incredible as well. It’s about as compact as you can get while still having the ability to watch video. It also has the Cover Flow capability of the iPhone and other iPod models. At $199 for the 8GB model it has a ton of value considering all its capabilities and compact size.

*I started writing this post last night, and since then Steve Jobs has issued “an open letter to iPhone owners” on the Apple website. In summary, he received an outpouring of complaints concerning the price drop and explains the reasoning. At the end, he offers every iPhone customer a $100 store credit at Apple.

Way to go Steve, you did the right thing. Nothing worse than alienating not only the loyal Macheads that have never even considered using anything else, but more importantly, the people that could potentially make the switch after buying the iPhone. A hundred bucks doesn’t go very far at an Apple store, which could also equate into converts using their credit towards making that switch with that new shiny iMac that just came out less than a month ago.

Steve Jobs has a master plan for Apple: world domination. The iPhone was the beginning of the end for the PC and Windows. Am I jumping the gun here?

I don’t think so.

As I’ve already stated, the iPhone could be the first step in Steve Jobs’ master plan to start turning the tables on Microsoft’s lion’s share of the market. His next step: Release the Kraken! er, I mean the new iMac. (a solid Clash of the Titans reference never hurt anyone)

It even matches the iPhone, if not surpasses it, with its stunning look and design. It’s a brushed metal flat screen monitor with a computer in it. A fast computer. I’m not going to geek out here, but take my word for it… you’re not going to find anything like it out of the box.

So what does all this have to do with world domination? Well, let’s take a step back here. Back on June 29th, the mighty iPhone was released. Sales? One million plus in about a week. Is this just a coincidence that such a slick looking, powerful Mac comes out less than two months later? Probably not. That’s just about enough time to let those PC users who bought an iPhone get acquainted with the easy to use Mac operating system that just so happened to be included with the iPhone. Sounds like just the right time to strike while the iron’s hot.

Is it also coincidental that I found this link on the Apple website? It may have already been there, but if it has I haven’t seen it.

I’m not going to discount the fact that students will be heading back to school, that’s always a good time for a new iMac release. It’s really just great timing all around putting the two factors together. Actually, there’s a third event that will be happening in less than another two months (see a trend here?): the release of Leopard, the revolutionary operating system that will make Vista look like your old TRS-80.

Steve Jobs is well on his way to world domination. If we want to go even farther back, the iPod sure can be argued as the real beginning to Apple’s run, but I think the recent chain of events starting with the iPhone could be the tipping point. Only time will tell.

The last two posts on Copyblogger have brought up an extremely valuable point that I myself need to implement: great writing abilities only come with tons of practice.

It’s just like anything else really.

Besides the project deadlines and client needs, writing has become a huge priority in my work. Marketing is all about the writing, online or off. Selling your products or services starts with engaging people. Telling your story in a way that grabs someone’s attention is not an easy task.

The other problem besides time constraints is the fact that most people, including myself, feel as though they have to hit it out of the park on every offering. I’m not saying sacrifice quality just for the sake of repetition. There’s a tightrope you have to walk between writing often and making sure you put genuine thought into it.

If you’re writing in a journal or some medium that has a minimal amount of exposure, then you have a chance to hone your skills without anyone, or hardly anyone, seeing it. That’s one way to get the reps in without sacrificing quality.

I know myself that I need to get on a more regimented schedule of writing more often. Not only does this “flex my writing muscles“, it also keeps me in front of my readers with more frequency. As long as I can make the effort to get in front of more people more often, the quality will undoubtedly increase with the experience I gain in the process as well.

Chris Garrett, super-blogger extraordinaire (not self-proclaimed), has created a simple, yet extremely beneficial forum for bloggers. Authority Blogger Forum is a place where bloggers can talk about blogging, ask questions, get feedback and maybe most importantly, get to know other bloggers.

Learning the ins and outs of what makes a blog successful is a full-time job in itself (trust me). This forum can accelerate that process exponentially just by finding out what’s worked and what hasn’t by talking to people directly who’ve been there and done that. Chris’ blog in itself has proven invaluable to me. Having the chance to talk back and forth with other bloggers like him is nothing short of brilliant. (Getting a little extra exposure never hurts either!)

If you’re a blogger, or you’re thinking about blogging, I really do suggest joining this forum and having a look around. Don’t be afraid to ask questions either, that’s why it’s there!

Thanks again Chris, I look forward to learning and contributing in any way I can.

1) Mac OS. Everything just flows the way it should. There’s something to be said for intuitiveness. There’s a natural progression of getting from point A to point B. I guess I’ve been spoiled having already been a Mac user, but this is the first thing I hear from people who convert from Windows to Mac, “Wow, I never knew it’d be this easy. I wish I would have switched a long time ago.” For those Windows users who purchased an iPhone… let the resentment begin. I personally think this might be the tipping point that could bring Windows users over in droves… we’ll see. (Maybe Jobs’ plan all along?)

2) Checking email. Before this phone, I sat with envy at lunch, networking events, conferences, and anywhere else I couldn’t be in front of my computer, as others had the luxury of checking their email. In most cases it’s something that can wait till I’m back at the office, but those couple of times it can’t… well worth it. If nothing else it’s peace of mind.

3) Calendar. Now, my last few phones had a calendar function. I use iCal. Why would I want to enter all my appointments and events twice? Answer: I don’t. Especially when it’s clunky. I use iCal for a reason (see Mac OS above).

4) I can finally text message! I never got the hang of spelling out words while filing through each key on a regular phone keypad. It made more sense for me to just call someone. The virtual keyboard that the iPhone offers has made me quite comfortable at texting by actually finding the letters where they should be! Mind you, this is my first mobile device with an actual keypad so I can’t compare the virtual keyboard vs. a “regular” one (I wasn’t going to waste my money on something running Windows).

5) The touch screen. Most reviews I have read list this as one of the drawbacks. I think it makes using the phone that much easier (and it’s cool). Sure, it gets smudged up quickly, but so did the screen on my last phone. Unless you can constantly see the reflection of the smudges, it’s not that big a deal. The screen is bright enough that even heavily smudged, you can see everything fine. Besides, it comes with a microfiber cloth that works extremely well at wiping clean whenever needed.

6) Battery life. Yeah, that’s right, I’m listing this as something I love! Whatever problems they had when the phone was first unveiled back in January, seem to be gone now. Even using the video and music player, this phone lasted for hours. It probably helps that my last phone (Samsung A900) was a hog on energy and my battery tended to die on me daily only after a couple hours of use.

7) Visual voicemail. How’d I almost forget this? (You could say I’ve saved the best for last, although the Mac OS is the biggest reason for me purchasing the phone in the first place.) I really don’t need to explain much here… A list of all your voicemails that you can listen to in whatever order you want or even delete before listening. ANYONE’s gotta love that.

The phone has some drawbacks, but they pale in comparison to all the good points. In fact, I’d say I was being picky to even mention them. The biggest drawback has nothing to do with the phone itself but the network it’s on (AT&T). I’ll save that for a different post. Please, if you agree, disagree, or have reasons why you love or hate your iPhone, please comment below!