con/text

Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth (a Word About Email Newsletters)

I don’t usually like to make sweeping statements, but I can’t resist this time: any business or organization that won’t let you sign up for their email list for free is behind the times.

A few businesses and nonprofits I know of still offer email newsletters as a paid membership benefit. I’m not against that at all … as long as there’s a free version of the newsletter too. Sure, maybe don’t give away the specialized info or the special deals paying members get, but – why would you turn down the opportunity to get an interested consumer’s email?!

Email is one of the most personal ways to stay in touch with a customer (other than face-to-face interaction or calling them on the phone). Despite all the great ways businesses can now connect with customers through social media, email still is king in that regard. Someone can Like your Facebook page and never see a single thing you post (because of Facebook’s ever-annoying Edgerank algorithm). I don’t know about most people, but I check my email probably 50 to 100 times a day.

I understand if a business wants to share “premium” content via email to paid members, but, in not capturing a potential customer’s email, they miss a chance to try to sell that membership … along with whatever other product they are pushing … to that customer on a weekly basis. And on the flip side – customers deserve a bit of a trial sample of what you are going to offer through email. Will you provide me with interesting, relevant information and good resources? If so, I may just sign up for one of your paid memberships. But I’m not going to pay you to send me emails right out of the blocks. And I don’t think many other people would either.

This comes back to the most essential tenet of successful digital marketing: give good content away for free. A great example of a local business that does this right is Tattered Cover Bookstore. They send me monthly emails with interesting news about the latest books that are out, in-store author readings and all sorts of other events. I’ve ended up back at that bookstore more times than I can count because of something I saw in an email they sent out.

They send me emails for free, and in return draw in my business time and time again. And that’s how it should be. Because the goal is not to sell people emails but to sell them your product.

2013: 04/30
CATEGORY: Digital Marketing
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The Problem With Social Media

TheProblemWithSocialMedia

Instagram now says it can republish and sell the photos users post on the platform without paying them or even notifying them, and this re-introduces the perennial problem of social media: you do not own your own channels. So you created a Facebook page for your business or organization and have spent years building up thousands of fans and populated that page with tons of fantastic content? Well, it could all disappear in a moment…on a whim of Facebook. But it’s not just Facebook. Whether you’re on Twitter or Tumblr or Pinterest or Pheed or whatever hot new social platform – a change in terms of service or a glitch or outage or a perceived violation in user agreement and you’re thrown out in the cold, content-less, identity-less.

The author/software developer Reginald Braithwaite, in translating Instagram’s new terms of service, pretty much perfectly explained social media as a whole: “You are not our customers, you are the cattle we drive to market and auction off to the highest bidder. Enjoy your feed and keep producing the milk.” I’ve talked about this before, but every instance like this is a reminder of just exactly how little control we have over what might happen to channels that we work so hard to develop and engage customers through.

But there is an easy solution: use social media as channels to engage your audience, yes, but, more importantly, use it to direct them back to your actual property: your website or blog. Those are the only places where you have control over what gets seen and how it’s presented. Almost all the content you post or share on social media should have a home on your actual website. I’m in a band, so I’ll use that metaphor: Think of social media platforms as venues where your band performs. You travel to the venue, play your show, hang out with your fans, but that’s all. You don’t store your instruments and equipment there, you don’t live in the basement of the venue. You may go play the same venue a number of times – but, if it closes down, it’s really no substantial loss to you because the venue is only a means through which you send your message. The band still has their albums, their merchandise, their band image that they can then go share (sell) at any other venue.

So, in this (only semi-applicable) metaphor, here’s what’s important: Be a rock star. Wait, no, that’s not it. The point is to have the hub for your content, your reputation, your online brand image somewhere you can control it, where you own it. Use Facebook, Twitter, etc. to go play your rock show, hang out with your fans, tell them about cool stuff – but always send them back to the hub: your website or blog.

2012: 12/18
CATEGORY: Social Media
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Networking (part 2): Sharing Your Passion

A while back, I wrote a post about networking and the importance of connecting on a real human level, not just a “so where do you work” level. After continuing to go to more networking events, I’ve realized something else that is key to successfully connecting with people: sharing your passion. To be more specific, if there’s something you want, share that with everyone you meet.

A good example of this: When I was in college, I played in a band that got some attention in the Dallas/Ft. Worth music scene (yes, I’m originally from Texas…shh!). Lance, a good friend of ours who was largely responsible for getting that band together, decided from the outset to be our booking agent and band manager. When he was a teenager, he started a production company called Spune Productions with the goal of bringing concerts to small West Texas towns where the kids wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to see live music.

I noticed that every single person we met who was in the music scene – and even a lot of people who weren’t – he’d tell them about Spune and about his passion to bring great music and well-known bands to the small town where our college was. But he wasn’t just sharing his goal…he was sharing his heart, his aspirations. At the time, I saw that is a bit self-centered. But looking back, I see that he was bringing other people into his vision in a way that got them excited, in a way that made them want to join in the mission and help in whatever way they could.

Because of his networking savvy, within a year my band that he was managing had played shows with a number of really well-known indie bands at the time and even played with the Grammy Award-winning band Switchfoot. Lance moved to Dallas after graduation and several years later was named Promoter of the Year there. Since then he’s also been named “Best Booking Agent” and “Best Record Label” by local press. To say the least, he’s having continued success with his business and is doing what he always wanted to do.

He knew what he wanted to achieve, and he told almost everyone he met about it. And it worked. I want to adopt this approach in telling people about my passion to help businesses and organizations communicate effectively and authentically through social media and grow thriving online communities that lead not only to more business but also improve the lives of their customers. I want to tell them how their company (whether for-profit or nonprofit) can have a mission that can make the world a better place. And it all starts with a handshake and “Hi, my name is Matthew.”

2012: 10/19
CATEGORY: Business
Social Media
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Music That Moves Me: Anthony Ruptak

This is part two of a series of posts called Music That Moves Me. In each post, I will feature one local Denver band and say a bit about them.

Anthony Ruptak

Anthony Ruptak sings with an urgency and passion that demands no less than your full attention. Some people sing from the heart, but Anthony sings from his soul – which, as the lyrics in one of his songs mention, is an old soul for such a young man.

If you’ve never heard him sing before, you’re in for a treat. At a house party my band The Belle Jar played recently, Anthony played a short impromptu set between bands. There were a number of talented Denver musicians, songwriters and such in the audience standing around drinking beer and chatting. Once Anthony started playing, by the end of the first line that he sang, everyone had stopped talking and all eyes were on him. After he finished the first song, one of the other musicians standing next to me leaned over and said what everyone was thinking: “Whoa, this guy is good.”

Anthony has a unique voice with impressive range, and he strums his acoustic with an unorthodox (pick-free) technique that punctuates his songs with a distinctive percussive effect. I don’t usually like to compare artists, but I can’t help but mention that his voice and melodies remind me of the best of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) meets the best of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)…with a little bit of Aaron Weiss (MeWithoutYou) thrown in. Comparisons aside, you should give him a listen and hear for yourself.

Anthony just released a new album C’est La Vie that offers a taste of all the great music that is to come from this emerging artist. Stream or buy the album here.

To fill out the songs and add a new dimension to their live shows, Anthony has teamed up with some very talented musicians including Anthony Carroll on drums, Jeb Draper on guitar and Julie Schmidt on cello and stand-up bass. Jeb is also a filmmaker who contributed his artful eye and production skills to this video:

See Anthony perform with his band tonight at The Walnut Room.

2012: 07/10
CATEGORY: Music
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Try and Fail and Try Again

If you’re a person who lives a life worth living, then you take risks. You work your butt off and you hone your game, and when a long shot presents itself – you take it. But you don’t always make it. Because it wouldn’t be a long shot if you did.

But here’s the deal. If you do it right, people respect that. They respect your hard work and your creativity. And sometimes, that opens a door to the place where you are supposed to be instead. Because it takes failing to succeed. Just look at the false starts and failures of Abraham Lincoln or R.H. Macy or Michael Jordan.

A guy once told me on the topic of asking girls out, “Every no you get is one no closer to a yes.” While that may not be statistically verifiable, it makes a good point: you have to keep trying.

I believe I’m one of those people who lives a life worth living. I will fail sometimes. I will succeed sometimes. But I’ll keep taking risks. Because where’s the excitement in putting everything on the line for something better if you already know what outcome will be?

2012: 07/06
CATEGORY: Life
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Music That Moves Me: Strange Americans

I usually reserve this blog to write about career-related things. But, I’m also involved in the Denver music scene, and I want to take a minute to share about the great people and the great music being made in Colorado.

I feel very blessed to get to be friends with other artists, so I’m starting a series of posts called Music That Moves Me. Each post, I will feature one local band and say a bit about them.

Strange Americans
I found out about these guys shortly after I started playing with The Belle Jar and Trent Nelson filled in on guitar for us for a show. I thought right away, not only is he a really nice guy, but he’s a fantastic guitar player. He comes up with just the right thing to play at just the right part of the song, and his solos are impressive but tasteful (which is a rare combination to find in a guitarist). Well, it turns out all the other members of Strange Americans share those same qualities: really nice guys and fantastic musicians.

What makes them stand out as a band is the synergy of their musicianship and friendships. When you watch Strange Americans play, you can tell – these guys are having a blast. And you kinda feel like they’d be doing the same thing even if there wasn’t an audience there.

I could go on and on about these guys – from Matt Hoffman’s powerful vocals that bring an emotional energy to the songs to Murry Mercier’s keys and guitar parts that punctuate key parts of the songs (and pretty much make you say, “Hell yeah”) to Trent Nelson’s aforementioned killer guitar riffs to Trevor Sinnard’s impressive and creative bass lines (seriously, this dude lays it down) to Scott Gunshore’s solid beats that bring the songs to another level (and he has some impressive arm muscles too).

Their new album A Royal Battle has a maturity in the lyrics and song structures that is rare to find, especially in a band that’s just starting to take off. The album also does a pretty damn good job capturing what I can only describe as the exuberant vitality of this band’s sound. Whether you go see them perform or listen to their album, you might just walk away inspired to live your life a little better.

For a limited time, you can stream their unreleased album A Royal Battle on their Bandcamp page.

And don’t miss their album release show at Hi Dive on June 30th!

photos by Dan Shargel

2012: 06/20
CATEGORY: Music
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Why Facebook Is Evil (or The Monetization of Facebook)

Facebook has, for quite some time now, been using algorithms to determine what shows up in your News Feed. But now, Facebook’s updated EdgeRank algorithm (explained well here) drastically influences what you see. It theoretically populates your News Feed based on assigned value to posts…but the problem is, it chooses those values for you. So, when a page you Liked never shows up in your feed and instead some spammy-looking “trending story” does, that is why.

This is a problem for this reason: If I have worked hard to build a following for a Facebook page I manage that has a large number of fans, you would think that when I made a status update that all of those fans (who voluntarily Liked the page) would see it, right? Wrong. Of course, that’s never been the case, but it’s even worse now.

Now that Facebook has introduced the “Promote” feature on posts, the algorithm seems to more aggressively limit the organic views of your posts. [note: This could be debated, but this is my theory based on conclusions from observed trends and a bit of speculation.] Facebook claims that using the Promote feature “increases organic views of your content” – which is only true because they have likely intentionally diminished the true organic reach of content so they can turn around and make you buy what you used to get for free.

Want an example?
I manage a page for the band I play in. For the past few months, we have typically reached 36% to 40% of our audience (i.e. the people who have Liked us). Since the introduction of the Promote option, our reach per post has dropped to only about 14%. Now, just to reach the same amount of people I used to reach, I have to pay at least $5 per Promoted post. This is why Facebook is evil. Or, evil genius if you want to think of it that way.

How about another example?
~~On a page I manage for xx xxxxxxx that has xx,000 fans, we went from having a xx% reach on an average post to having an x% reach – just since the Promote button has been introduced.~~ Ok, decided to edit out that example so as not to give away any proprietary information.

On Facebook, you now have to pay for the same reach that you once got for free. I must say that Facebook did a damn good job of getting everyone on the bandwagon without ever letting on that the ride was eventually going to cost us a lot of money.

You know what drug dealers do? They give you some crack or meth or whatever for free. And when you come back for more, they might even give you a little more for free. Once they have you hooked, all of a sudden what you once got for free is now gonna cost you hundreds of dollars just to get a fix. Who could have guessed that someone in mainstream culture would get away with that same business model?