The Bittersweet Nature of Fall

I think Fall is bittersweet. The days are short but beautiful; crisp and clear, but colder; a great time to reflect on the year past yet look forward to the next. Business seems to be in the same cycle. The markets are rebounding amidst talk of a new correction while our clients are assessing what's happened and are planning for the future. It seems no matter where you look, there's good and bad, positive and negative, ying and yang… And so the cycle continues.

I'm not sure where the year has gone, but looking back I can see a lot of things were accomplished: Cathy's Concepts rolled out an affiliate retailer program that has set the stage to dramatically impact their business, we've begun development work for Duke Realty, Exact Target, and Jane Boatman Geller, and we're sending out about 60,000 e-mails a month on behalf of our clients. And the cycle continues.

So here's to Fall, in all it's bittersweet glory. Here's to brighter colors, making friends, keeping promises. Here's to cooler (and longer) nights, better movies, and spending time with the people who mean the most. Here's to football, budgeting, and hot apple cider. Here's to turning over new leaves, leaving no stone unturned, and turning out to be the person you've always wanted to be.

From all of us at Rare Bird, here's to you and yours; we wish you the warmest of holidays.

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Cathy's Concepts Launches Affiliate Program

One of the most exciting projects we've tackled this year has to be the affiliate program recently rolled out for Cathy's Concepts. This program allows Cathy's independent retailers to have a fully-functional e-commerce site to sell Cathy's products without any maintenance issues whatsoever — even if they don't know any programming or have a site of their own.

The program works by allowing each retailer to select a look and feel for their site by choosing a template and accent colors, and then lets them upload their store logo. Then they select their pricing structure and product categories to sell, supply copy about their business and background, and tell us what billing options they'll support. Using this information, the support staff at Cathy's creates their site using a simple web interface, and in about 15 minutes the site is up and running and open for business.

Orders are placed on each store's site, billing is handled by the retailer and — once approved — the orders are filled and drop-shipped by Cathy's. Cathy's goal is to have 300 retailers signed up for the program by the end of the first quarter of next year. All of the hosting for the sites is handled by us, using load-balanced servers designed to support up to one million page views a day, with easy extensibility for growth. You can get more detailed information about the program by visiting the affiliate site, Cathy's Express.

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Building Business with Blogs

Weblogs (or "blogs" as they are most often called) are ubiquitous. Everywhere, everything, and nothing. Blogs are best described as online journals written by anyone, in an informal style, about anything they choose. Some have a narrow focus, some (like mine) have no focus at all. Some are funny, some sad, some tragic. In their most basic sense, blogs empower amateur journalists everywhere to use the largest forum imaginable (the internet) to inform, enlighten, and entertain. Though they've been around for some time, recent changes in their use are demanding the attention of businesses (and politicians) everywhere.

First, politics. The fact that you even know Howard Dean's name can be attributed in some degree to his campaign team's skillful use of the internet and his blog. Using the blog as a forum to address the issues, his supporters quickly began expanding its use and popularity by contributing their opinions. And before anyone could say, "Who is Howard Dean?", his team parlayed their online success into a sizeable warchest to help fund his campaign. Over the next few elections, as the airwaves continue to fill with clutter and voters are continuously bombarded by advertising messages of all types, blogs will take on a larger role for educating and informing the masses. Look for the internet and blogs to become an intrinsic part of every campaign from now until... well, from now until the next "big thing".

Now, business. Because blogs are usually informal and regularly updated, their voice can, at times, become more persuasive than other marketing communications. Almost every company on the planet has a writer on staff capable of running the company blog. To use one effectively for %%Company%%, find that writer and ensure they are intimately familiar with your corporate vision, your products and services, your policies, and your goals. Finally, let them do their thing.

Let them discuss industry issues, product issues, world issues. Over time, if their writing is good and people find them relative, they'll strike a chord and build an audience. The audience will appreciate their views, add their own, and build online discussions on a variety of topics. I can think of several clients who could easily translate what they do into an interesting, vibrant log their customers would appreciate and enjoy. And I'd bet, if you gave it some thought, you could think of a way to put it to use for the benefit of your customers, too.

If you think you might like to put a blog to work for your business, give me a call. In the meantime, here are a few links to interesting articles related to blogging for business:

• 5 Key Questions (You've Been Dying To) Ask About Business Blogs
• Blogging For Dollars: Giving Rise to the Professional Blogger
• Rock, Paper, Stone: The Biz Stone Guide to Independent Publishing

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BrainPOP Turns Dads Into Geniuses

You know that dream where you're standing naked in front of a class and you're supposed to be delivering a report on a topic about which you have no knowledge? As we get older, it's common for the situation to change from a classroom to a board room, but it's essentially the same.

Lately, for me this dream has taken a decidedly disturbing turn. While my kids are too young for this to have happened to me yet, I'm beginning to dread the day that they come home from school and need help with homework that I don't comprehend. "Dad, what type of organism is a protist and how is it crucial to the building blocks of life?" Or, "Dad, why did Benedict Arnold want to surrender West Point to the British?" Or, "Dad, what's the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" (Oh, wait, I know that one.)

Luckily, I've discovered BrainPOP, a fascinating site in the same vein as How Stuff Works, except BrainPOP is intended especially for kids.

[Complete Story]

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Customer Survey

I was recently thinking about the topic of permission-based marketing (essentially, sending newsletters like this one to people who don't mind receiving them) and I got to wondering about the value and effectiveness of the Newswire. So, if you don't mind, please take a minute to answer the following questions:

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