Tetsou: "7 Deadly Sins of Email"

Tetsou's "7 Deadly Sins of Email" is on target with this list of email sins:

1. Inappropriate subject line
2. Content that is too long or just rambles on
3. Attaching huge files
4. Unnecessary reply
5. No signature file
6. Poor use of language
7. Failure to respond promptly or not at all

Tetsou explains each of these sins in more detail.

I suggest you pay particular attention to your subject line. Write clearly, indicating what action the recipient should take. For example, when I'm researching an article on deadline, I often write something like "Please reply by JULY 4 re: Reporter questions for Wealth Manager magazine."

By the way, I discovered Tetsou's post through a reference on the LifeHacker.com blog.

"How to take the zzz out of presentations"

In "How to take the zzz out of presentations," Meryl K. Evans advocates some simple steps for keeping your audience's attention.

Her main points:

• "10 slides in 20 minutes with 30-point font. Yes, that's 30 points, not 10 or 12."
• KISS - keep it short and sweet
• Show what's in it for them

Reading her article made me wonder how well my Boston Security Analysts Society presentation on "The Six Deadly Sins of Investment Commentary, or How to Write What People Will Read," complied with these suggestions.

My presentation:

• 16 slides for a one-hour presentation -- This may not seem like enough, but my presentation was interactive.
• Font size was generally 28-32 point -- To make up for small typeface on some pages, each audience member received a hard copy handout. But perhaps I should have broken up some content into two pages instead of one.
• I showed the audience specific ways to make their investment commentary more interesting to their readers.

Handy list of marketing blogs by category

Marketing Sherpa is collecting votes for the best marketing blog of 2006.


Their ballot includes links to marketing blogs organized into marketing categories such as business-to-business, email marketing, search marketing, marketing to specific demographics, advertising, public relations and more.

Two marketing newsletters I like

I subscribe to e-newsletters from both MarketingProfs and MarketingSherpa. Both provide practical articles on a variety of marketing topics by a mix of experts.

In the most recent issue of Marketing Profs, I particularly enjoyed Nick Usborne's "The 'Tail' of the Headline: Rethinking the Call to Action."

If I had to pick between the two newsletters, I'd go for Marketing Profs, probably because their articles are more relevant for writers than Marketing Sherpa's.

Marketing Profs also offers a daily blog with multiple contributors.

Check out these newsletters and tell me what you think!