Publishing an e-newsletter on a regular schedule is a heck of a lot of work. Every now and then a subscriber writes in with a comment that makes my day. Here's one from Steve Quartermaine: "Debbie, you are one of the few 'real' people on the net... " I believe he's referring to authentic voice, the single most important ingredient of an effective e-newsletter (or blog). Everyone who publishes on the Web is "real," of course. They just don't Publishing an e-newsletter on a regular schedule is a heck of a lot of work. Every now and then a subscriber writes in with a comment that makes my day. Here's one from Steve Quartermaine: "Debbie, you are one of the few 'real' people on the net... " I believe he's referring to authentic voice, the single most important ingredient of an effective e-newsletter (or blog). Everyone who publishes on the Web is "real," of course. They just don't all sound that way. Here's an example - verbatim except I dropped out the names - from an email "sales letter" I received recently. Is this voice credible? "Dear Debbie, This is unreal. When Internet marketing guru told me about this, I was dumbfounded. First, when he told me about the fact that he's a long-time admirer and follower of guru, I wasn't surprised. Considering that guru has…

That's how someone described a teleseminar to me recently. Talk radio... as in NPR (National Public Radio) or Rush Limbaugh. Whatever; I guess I'm more the NPR type. Anyway, today's inaugural WordBiz Blogging for Business teleseminar went off very well! Thanks to guest experts Rick Bruner, Dave Taylor and Greg Reinacker (of NewsGator.com) for their pithy responses to my questions. One of the attendees blogged it with a nice write up. Here's That's how someone described a teleseminar to me recently. Talk radio... as in NPR (National Public Radio) or Rush Limbaugh. Whatever; I guess I'm more the NPR type. Anyway, today's inaugural WordBiz Blogging for Business teleseminar went off very well! Thanks to guest experts Rick Bruner, Dave Taylor and Greg Reinacker (of NewsGator.com) for their pithy responses to my questions. One of the attendees blogged it with a nice write up. Here's how Lee LeFever described the one-hour event. You can order the audio CD of this teleseminar

Have you ever found yourself in another city with a few hours to kill and no deadlines to meet? What better place to steal time than San Francisco. After meeting with WordBiz subscribers for coffee, I wandered up Grant Street into Chinatown. Beautiful sunny day; no agenda; no rush to get back anywhere.
Feeling a bit decadent, I stopped for lunch at 3:30 PM at a little place called Cafe de la Presse (on Grant St. - anyone know it?). Had Have you ever found yourself in another city with a few hours to kill and no deadlines to meet? What better place to steal time than San Francisco. After meeting with WordBiz subscribers for coffee, I wandered up Grant Street into Chinatown. Beautiful sunny day; no agenda; no rush to get back anywhere.
Feeling a bit decadent, I stopped for lunch at 3:30 PM at a little place called Cafe de la Presse (on Grant St. - anyone know it?). Had home-made crab ravioli, a glass of wine, cappucino and creme brulee for dessert - and of course, read the paper. Sigh... it was wonderful.

I had the pleasure of meeting today for a leisurely coffee in downtown San Francisco with five WordBiz subscribers. Here's who showed up to chat knowledgeably about blogs, e-newsletters, online advertising and the challenges we all face right now in our businesses. Front row (from left): David Riker of Speedwayprinting, Maria Lopez-Knowles and Steve Knowles of MarketingAcumen; back row (from left): Mike O'Sullivan (WordBiz guest editor), I had the pleasure of meeting today for a leisurely coffee in downtown San Francisco with five WordBiz subscribers. Here's who showed up to chat knowledgeably about blogs, e-newsletters, online advertising and the challenges we all face right now in our businesses. Front row (from left): David Riker of Speedwayprinting, Maria Lopez-Knowles and Steve Knowles of MarketingAcumen; back row (from left): Mike O'Sullivan (WordBiz guest editor), Debbie, Cathie Sturdevant of FlikPix.

I forgot to mention... Don't miss the WordBiz Blogging for Business teleseminar on Thursday, Nov. 20th. Get all your blogging for profit questions answered. I'll be grilling a techie guy (Dave Taylor) and a business guy (NewsGator's Greg Weinacker) with questions such as: - why would my company want a blog? - can you make money with a blog? - how open and honest should a blog be about what's going on at my company? - what's an RSS feed and why I forgot to mention... Don't miss the WordBiz Blogging for Business teleseminar on Thursday, Nov. 20th. Get all your blogging for profit questions answered. I'll be grilling a techie guy (Dave Taylor) and a business guy (NewsGator's Greg Weinacker) with questions such as: - why would my company want a blog? - can you make money with a blog? - how open and honest should a blog be about what's going on at my company? - what's an RSS feed and why is it important? - can I use an RSS feed for something other than a blog? - how much time should it take to maintain a blog? - what are the legal limitations of blogging for business? Learn more and register here. Oh, and teleseminar means you just need a phone to dial in. No Internet access required. Thursday, Nov. 20: 10 AM…

I just published this week's issue of WordBiz Report featuring a lead article on long vs. short sales copy by contributing writer Michel Fortin. As an example of "long copy," I included a pointer to the sales page for my new handbook: Insider Secrets of Profitable E-Newsletters. I promptly received this feedback from Peter Stone, a WordBiz subscriber who happens to be a copywriter... "Long sales copy doesn't just work. It... works to the I just published this week's issue of WordBiz Report featuring a lead article on long vs. short sales copy by contributing writer Michel Fortin. As an example of "long copy," I included a pointer to the sales page for my new handbook: Insider Secrets of Profitable E-Newsletters. I promptly received this feedback from Peter Stone, a WordBiz subscriber who happens to be a copywriter... "Long sales copy doesn't just work. It... works to the tune of better than $1.5 trillion dollars a year according to the Direct Marketing Association. I would hope that you would quit apologizing for selling and for having anything to do with selling and just get on with it or get out. You are an internet marketer... Some of your readers will bristle and leave no matter how you sell. They aren't buyers. In my opinion, they aren't nice people either. Otherwise,…