This work week prior to Labor Day is understandably slow…
…as many of us head to our favorite vacation spots to squeeze the last few juicy drops out of summer. But for those of us who are in the office, this week can be a good time to reflect and prepare for the busy autumn ahead.
To that end, I’ve dusted off five oldies but goodies from the vast and deep archives of the 6.5-year-old MarketingProfs web site. These five articles represent a handful of the most popular MarketingProfs pieces that still, years later, continue to draw new readers. And like fine wine or great music, they are timeless.
Well, mostly timeless. These five articles are admittedly a little dusty …. you won’t find a single mention of blogging, podcasting, YouTube, MySpace, or any flavor of social media. But at the same time, the concepts they express are solid. As a group, they are anything but relics.
So if you find yourself in the office this week, and you haven’t read these yet, do take a look.
(Please note: You will need to register as a MarketingProfs member to read these articles, but basic membership on the Profs site is free.)
1. Your Seven-Step, One-Day Marketing Plan
by David Frey, originally published 2/19/2002
2. The Positioning Statement: Why To Have One Before You Start Communicating
by Ford Kanzler, originally published 5/28/2002
3. How to Write an Award-Winning, Sales-Kicking Creative Brief
By Steve McNamara, originally published 3/5/2002
4. Power-Writing for the Web: 10 Golden Rules
by Ann Handley, originally published 4/16/2002
5. 8 Ways to Make Your Direct Marketing Copy Work Harder
by Douglas Smith, originally published 11/6/2001
Thank you Ann. Good stuff. I think that if we take away only one thing from the five articles, which is often the case, it should be this from David Frey:
Knowing your customer intimately is the first step to easy sales. Until you know (1) who your customers are, (2) what they want, and (3) what motivates them to buy, you can’t prepare an effective marketing plan.
I don’t think there are many easy sales, but if the above doesn’t form the foundation of our marketing and sales efforts, we may not have any sales.