Last year I wrote a script that would generate our newsletter weekly by providing a digest version of our blog. That script worked well for awhile and then needed to be upgraded to work with version 2.6. At that time I decided it might be a good idea to do some beta testing of other services. One of the services I tested extensively was AWeber. I have decided to move our newsletter off our own server and make use of a service like AWeber.

The AWeber software is robust and has these features for our blog…

If you were subscribed to our old newsletter then you will need to subscribe to our new one as we will stop using it as of today.

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It could be that you feel like a small fish in a big pond, getting bullied around by all the bigger fish occupying the same water. It could be that your major competitor just had a major breakthrough and is really starting to “steal” your business away from you, so to speak. Whatever the case, you just may find that your company is having a hard time competing in the current market with your current product line.

One of the strategies that you can consider to overcome this obstacle is to market your products and services in such a way that they would appeal to a relatively untapped segment of the market. Your major competitors may be going after a particular demographic, so rather than trying to tackle them head-on, you can approach another segment that is being largely ignored. Perhaps an example would illustrate this point.

When Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 and Sony announced the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Revolution (as the Wii was known at the time) was nowhere close to being able to compete in raw power. It could not process the same level of high-definition graphics and other high-end features. Instead of bumping the Wii into that market with HD graphics and high-priced components, Nintendo took a wholly different approach.

While there are certainly some games on the Wii that appeal to the conventional player, Nintendo has clearly not focused on the core “hardcore gamer” demographic. Instead, the Wii is being marketed as a home video game system that will appeal to everyone, regardless of gender, age, or level of skill. Nintendo went after the senior citizens, soccer moms, working dads, young children, and everything in between. The Xbox 360 and PS3, by contrast, do not make a distinct effort to go after these demographics.

Regardless of what your company sells, you can always reconsider the target demographic. If all your competitors are going after 25-year-old males, why not try marketing your product to 45-year-old women?

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the design of a WordPress blog, paying particular attention to the image that sits on top of each and every page.

On the one hand, you have people who believe that you should have a truly unique header image. This would entail the creation of a banner that stretches all the way across (or almost all the way across) the blog template. The idea here would be similar to what the top of the BlueFur blog looks like. This header image is an amalgamation of a server and the BlueFur mascot. Similarly, Hadouken Online has created a header image that stretches all the way across the template.

On the other hand, you have people who believe that all you need is a well-designed logo. This logo can represent and provide and identity to your blog. Aside from this unique logo, the text at the top of the page can be the same as the rest of the template, actually showing up as text rather than being a part of a larger image file. The exception would be if the text is part of the logo, as is the case with a site like Engadget.

Realistically, most bloggers use some combination of the two. John Chow, for example, has both a logo (a “JC” with the world behind it) and a header image (a sports car).

Which strategy do you prefer and why?

Last week we asked what online RSS reader do you use and 57% said they use Google Reader. This weeks question is…

One of the most critical elements to the success of your business is the right kind of branding. When you establish a strong brand in the marketplace, people are not only more likely to remember who you are and what you do, but as a result, they are more likely to purchase goods and services from your company over another firm that offers similar products and services.

While there are certainly brands out there that have managed to find quite a bit of success with a wide-reaching portfolio, (General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, etc.), the brands that achieve the greatest success are those that approach a very specific niche market. Even when you look at bigger organizations like Proctor & Gamble, you’ll find very few end user products that bear the P&G name so boldly.

Instead, the consumer is more likely to recognize brands like Duracell, Gillette, and Pampers, all of which fall under the Proctor & Gamble family of brands. The same can be said about Kleenex (Kimberly-Clark Worldwide) and Q-Tip (Unilever), among countless others. By having these brands specialize in a single, specific product, these larger organizations are able to almost make the brand synonymous with the type of product itself. Not too many people ask for facial tissue and cotton swabs; they ask for Kleenex and Q-Tips.

If your company’s product line is getting too diverse, it is probably a good idea to consider branding (and marketing) each product separately for greater success.

MobileCampVancouver2 is bringing together iPhone junkies, Crackberry addicts, couch surfers, coffee shop hackers, vagabonds and mobile nomads to share the current state and their visions for the future direction of mobility. MobileCampVancouver2 hopes to support the many voices helping to unlock the potential of a truly mobile life. Topics may include – but are not limited to – mobile gaming, entrepreneurship, social mobility and presence, near field communication, physical hyperlinking, mobile storytelling, the importance of open standards, protocols, and platforms, linux based devices, and mobility on other continents.

When is the event happening?
Saturday, September 6, 2008

Where is it happening?
WorkSpace – 21 Water Street – Vancouver

Registration
To register for this free event you need to sign-up here.