post

Delighting subscribers

January 18, 2009 By 8 Comments

I published a “worthwhile post” last night about how to stream media from a DVD. So I hit “Publish.”

Then I realized I wanted the featured video to appear in the right navigation. I thought, “I better set that up quickly so my subscribers only get one email from the Marketing Strategy Blog. I don’t want them getting an email about the article and a separate email about the video.”

When Chris unsubscribed

Tonight my friend Chris Cade (who guest wrote a blog here) unsubscribed from my blog. I asked him for feedback. He replied:

"Trying to cut down on total emails and
I already get notification of your
blog posts via twitter."

Between his response and my own self-consciousness about “what’s worth an email,” I’m wondering how authors far more prolific and popular than I deal with emails for subscriber base. So I ask them here,

Dear Prolific Blogger, What’s your email strategy for subscribers?

– I know that an RSS feed (which I offer) is not for everyone. As “technically savvy” as I am (not really, but I imagine I’m in the top five percent of Internet users), I don’t use RSS feeds as often as I probably should.

– I get that “you need to offer your subscriber a reason to subscribe” — perhaps a special offer available only to subscribers. And I’d go there if this were my business, but it’s not. I blog for lots of reasons, income is not one of them.

– I know I want to build my subscription base. More subscribers means a larger circle of influence, which can lead to meeting a key influencer that teaches me something new, a writing or speaking opportunity, and who knows what else.

– I don’t want to clog my subscribers’ inboxes with trivia. On the other hand, I like using this platform for expression without everything having to be “important.” Plus, my Google Analytics report indicates my Humor and Random tabs are popular.

questionmark

So, Prolific (and less prolific) Bloggers

and consumers of social media,

give me some advice.

How to balance the tension between

subscriber emails and the “importance” of the content?

…

…

post

Survivor spoof we made for StockPot sales

January 18, 2009 By 1 Comment
post

How to stream media from a DVD

January 17, 2009 By 3 Comments

100 percent of the credit for this content goes to Lindy and Kris Boustedt. They own and run First Sight Productions, and I recommend them.

lindy_boustedtStraight from Lindy (who I met on Biznik):

These instructions assume that the DVD/DVD folder is not encrypted with CSS.

First, download MPEG Streamclip – it is a free application for both Mac OS X and Windows: http://www.squared5.com.

This application allows you to take any section of a non-encrypted DVD and encode it as basically anything you want.

Once you have MPEG Streamclip installed, put the DVD into your computer (ignore this, if you already have the VIDEO_TS folder on your hard drive). Open MPEG Streamclip and choose File > Open DVD. From there, navigate to the DVD you put into your computer (or to the folder on your Hard Drive). On the DVD, there will be two folders, AUDIOTS and VIDEOTS. Choose the VIDEO_TS folder.

Now you can play through the footage and mark in and out points to isolate just the chunk you want – i and o are the keyboard shortcuts for this.

Go File > Export to Quicktime and choose the settings you want. I’d recommend H.264 as your encoder. Just make sure that “Deinterlace video” is checked – this will ensure you don’t get any jaggies when you upload the file (unless you know that the footage on the DVD is already progressive, then you don’t have to).

—-

When you’ve completed these steps, your file is perfect for uploading to YouTube. Here’s the one I uploaded tonight:

Thanks, Lindy!

And if you thought this was helpful (or entertaining), retweet and buy me some candy below!

…

post

Do more than *get through the year.*

January 4, 2009 By 13 Comments

Between a History Channel program about the deadly sin of sloth and prayerful reflection today at church, I had a bit of a revelation about 2009.

Hear me out.

Like many, I’m anxious about the year. What will the economy bring? I know people looking for work. Others in business for themselves, trying to make ends meet. Still others with jobs who will do more with less.

I picked up an expression from someone a few weeks back, “Flat is the new up.” It’s ironic, and it’s got me in this mindset that if I can just get through the year, the economy will turn around and we’ll be fine.

Doing more

I thought today: Just getting through an entire year seems like a bit of a waste. Would I be content if, a year from now, I kept everything as it was?

The people around me need more than that.

More than ever in my adult life, I think, people are going to need me. They’re going to need my strength, my humor, my intelligence. They’re going to need my help. And, knowing the way my mind works, I’ll only be available to them if I have my house in order: my job, my family — my head!

What I plan to do about it

That History Channel show about sloth came at just the right time. Among other things, it talked about the little procrastinations that add up and rob me of my time and energy. And with my prayers for strength ahead of what could be a difficult year, I realized: I need to be ready.

Ready to help. To be there for other people. To network for them and present opportunities for them. And I can be ready if I stay focused and work hard and smart.

Perhaps this year my resolution is to stay alert. Maybe cut back on some of the time-wasters I enjoy for relaxation. I’m going to need that time when someone comes knocking. They’re going to need me. And I’m going to help.

…

I don’t typically get this philosophical on my blog. Did this message strike a chord with you?

Please, leave a comment.

Joe