Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Bloggers migrating from trusted opinion leaders to part of marketing mix

We bloggers have proved ourselves trusted opinion leaders.  For example, head writer Elie Mystal on Abovethelaw.com and Erick Schonfeld on TechCrunch are likely more respected than the official players in their fields.  So, it's no surprise that marketers have noticed this credible force and are harnessing it for everything from branding to actual selling. 

In WWD, Cate T. Corcoran reports that major retail players such as Barneys New York and Coach are "collaborating with bloggers to create new and controversial forms of advertising for a more social age."  Some of the ways this is being done, usually with full disclosure by bloggers are, notes Corcoran:

• Guest blog
• Sponsor a series of daily outfit posts featuring their products
• Create a video of the blogger talking about the brand or wearing the product
• Invite the bloggers to design for the brand.

Payment for this kind of participation with just one retailer could reach into the thousands of dollars.  However, trust is a fragile entity.  Too strong an identification with a commercial brand can undercut that particular blogger's credibility.  Those monitoring this trend can predict that sooner than later some aspect of it will blow up.  There will be a dual scandal involving both the brand and blogger.

My recommendation to bloggers: proceed with caution.  It has been hard work establishing our credibility as well as our online presence.  We don't want to treat those assets recklessly.

Terrorism: Good for pop culture

So much of pop culture has been embedded on the platform of fear of terrorism that more and more of us can hardly imagine terrorists are real. 

On "Rubicon," the convoluted plot is constructed on the foggy notion that it's tough to tell the terrorists from just the control freaks who can also make some serious money. 

In his new book THE LION, Nelson DeMille has his characters determined to separate the bad guys - read that terrorists - from the good guys. 

And, the writers for "The Good Wife" would have to be not focused on ratings not to include an episode in which Alicia winds up inadvertently defending a terrorist.  Since she's known for her ability to compromise and live with all that, we are sure that she will be able to compartmentalize that client experience as revenue for the struggling law firm.

Unfortunately, "Mad Men" is set in a world which never contemplated 9/11.  Otherwise Don Draper would be hired by the U.S. government, post Clio, to educate the public about signs of terrorist activity.

Debt is "tool for economic advance," Jackson Lears, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Those middle-class rigids who were/are full of condemnation for those of us living in debt have been stunned.  The recovery is taking hold and some of us, in a few good months, have wiped out a lot of that debt.  No wonder the middle class are economically stuck and can't build a platform on which to climb out.  They essentially are economically unenlightened.

In his classic article in THE NEW YORK TIMES "The American Way of Debt," Jackson Lears documented how debt has been as American as apple pie and helped the nation become the number-one wealth producer.  Specifically, Lears states,

"Debt has always played an important role in American lives - not merely as a means of instant gratification but also as a strategy for survival and a tool for economic advance."

Are the stuck middle class killing possibilities by being so risk-averse regarding piling on debt?  Here's a brief case study of a big-time debtor:

African-American Elie Mystal took on about $150,000 in student loans getting a JD at Harvard Law School.  Turns out he hated practicing law, at least the kind that's done at Manhattan law firms.  Despite his debt, which he hadn't put a dent in, he left law.  He then went on to audition, American Idol-style, for a writing, yes, a writing, position at gossipy legal tabloid Abovethelaw.com.  He got the job. 

Surely, it can't pay what a large law firm does.  However, at ATL, Mystal is putting together something that is leading to new options.  Because of the tabloid's popularity - think the NATIONAL ENQUIRER of the legal profession - bookers put him on talk shows.  He's quoted globally in media.  He's feared by the public relations types.  And my hunch is that he is going to be making seven or eight figures in some entertainment niche.

Mystal never allowed debt to influence his approach to creating wealth, his way.

Helping the Manhattan Real Estate Game - Tiger Woods moves downtown

This is good news for Manhattan real estate.  GAWKER reports that newly divorced Tiger Woods has moved into his bachelor pad downtown.  To enjoy himself at Hooters, though, he will have to commute to midtown. 

NY State Freelancers - Getting stiffed to the tune of $4.7 billion in 2009

In 2001, Daniel Pink predicted in his book FREE AGENT NATION that more of us would be migrating to contract assignments vs. being traditional full-time employees.  Pink was on the money. 

Unfortunately neither he nor many free agents anticipated the difficulty they were going to experience collecting the money once the assignment was completed.  However, I have discovered through trial and error how to prevent most of this problem and manage any foot-dragging on accounts receivable quite effectively.

In CRAIN'S NEW YORK, Daniel Massey reports that getting stiffed has emerged as a major problem among independent contractors in the state of New York.  A study by a Rutgers University economist found, Massey tells readers, that 42% of them "reported having trouble collecting payment for their labors last year, totaling an estimated $4.7 billion in lost wages."

Four years ago, I was left holding the bag on $800 on a account receivable for ghosting about 500 words of commentary on a political issue.  As C.S. Lewis has noted, experience is a brutal teacher but we learn, boy, do we learn.  I learned from that [emotionally] brutal experience.  Here are some of things I discovered and have implemented.  I haven't been "tricked" out of my money again. 

• Screen prospects before agreeing to work with them.  In this volatile economy, the turbulence of which will continue, you have to kiss a lot of frogs because you decide you can settle down on the pod and make music together.  What to look for?  In addition to, of course, chemistry, if it's a big job it's worth doing due diligence on their financial condition.  Yes, it's appropriate to say: you do not have the budget. 

• Be all business.  Actually, that will bring in more assignments since the new breed of client is hyper-cautious.  Friendly, nice, traditionally feminine, and too interested in their troubles only send the wrong messages.  Since 9/11, clients want only the service, hold the relationship.

• Have a PayPal account and request at least a third deposited before work commences. 

• Put the terms and conditions in writing.  That means specifying one draft and one revision. 

• The prospect should be aware that you have the resources to not only collect on the account but also make your grievance known in the industry.  The latter could happen through simple word of mouth, as in wondering aloud about the client's cash flow, leveraging social media, and tapping media connections for them to do an interview with you on this pressing problem.

• Interview collection agencies regularly.  Some are quite adept at calling on the miscreant's organization in-person and asking how things are.  Those collection agencies are worth every buck we pay them.  Two decades ago one collected money owed me by LEAR'S MAGAZINE for a speech. 

• It's okay to let small amounts go.  In fact, when a client becomes abusive, to protect myself emotionally I frequently terminate the relationship and inform them to kill the invoice.   The game is about presenting ourselves from a position of strength.  We can't do that if we're preoccupied with $350 or if we are being treated badly.  For the kind of compensation paid in financial services, sure I would absorb getting roughed up.  Wall Street knows that and that's exactly why such amazing behavior goes on and is tolerated.

What might also be helpful are the kinds of mindsets and behavior I recommend in my book OVER-50: HOW WE KEEP WORKING.  It's in paperback and online.   Here, free to download, are the Preface, Introduction, and Table of Content Download Over50prefaceintrotoc.

Relationships are horizontal: No one sucks up all the oxygen, at least not for long

It's a volatile world.  Wealth, influence, and power of position can be lost quickly - and in ways that wouldn't have been predicted.   Therefore, even the most deferential among us, including the scared rabbit types, are treating relationships as horizontal.  It's a level playing field.  That's why we're not allowing anyone to suck up all the oxygen, at least not for long.

Whether it's a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, a conversation at Starbucks, or a sales pitch, the new way of presentation of self is equal time, with erring on the side of not saying enough.  The role model for that might be copywriter Peggy Olson in "Mad Men."  She establishes a very strong presence in the world of alpha males and creative egos by making less be more.  Her profile is low.  She speaks few words.  She holds the emotion, though it was a time when females could get away with that.  And we all sense that when the rest of the office tanks, Olson will be in an office on another side of town  running her own wildly successful ad shop. 

When someone does try to take over all the air in a room now, we just look at that man or woman in a puzzled manner.  We wonder why they are hell-bent on blowing it.

The New Risk-Aversion: Buttoned-Down Pitching

Selling into a trend, ahead of a trend, or making it known you know the trend has peaked.  That's how we consultants develop new business and cross-sell to current clients.

Well, the trend right now, Suzanne McGee documents in PORTFOLIO, is risk-aversion.  Uncertainty is making those who can buy a services cautious on every level.  Here are the recommendations on how adjust to this marketplace and still close sales:

• Brash is annoying, so is bullying.  Low-key, listening, and attempting to be useful make the prospect feel safe. 

• Approach the sales process in steps.  At various points in that continuum, ask prospects if they want to continue.  This not only makes prospects feel safe.  It saves us the time and energy of chasing something which probably won't close.

• Don't over-accommodate.  Research shows that salespeople who know their worth and demand respect sell more.  Over-eagerness scares prospects.

My book OVER-50: HOW WE KEEP WORKING provides insight into reading and behaving in the new marketplace.  Sure it's custom-made for Baby Boomers but all generations can leverage it to earn a good buck.  It's available online.  Here, to download free, are the Preface, Introduction, and Table of Content Download Over50prefaceintrotoc.

"Rubicon" - Who does Ingram work for or better yet who do they all work for

Probably next episode of "Rubicon" we will learn more about who's working for who.  The FBI is coming in, lie detector tests will be administered, everyone will be in lockdown.  That's because there's been a leak.

Meanwhile tonight things just got more confusing about everyone's agenda.  Is Maggie falling enough in love with Will to be more loyal to him than she is to Ingram?  Is Ingram a triple agent of some kind or, is it as he says, protecting his country against enemies, both domestic and foreign?  Is Will nuts as he compulsively pursues to connect the dots when lots of folks don't seem to want him to do that?  And why is the widow of the latest suicide victim bothering to make sense of her husband's death?  After all, she now has a bundle of money.

Thanks to all the action, Tanya hasn't been cornered yet in that employee-assistance way and made to submit to substance screenings.  It was a shame she just had a cameo appearance  tonight because, like Kalinda on "The Good Wife," she seems to be the most compelling character on the show.  That's because she's so much an enigma.

Next week we get more clues about who is who, if an assassination is planned, and if Ed the retired coder has been offed yet.

"Mad Men" - Don wins Clio, Peggy got gut instinct/guts

Probably some of us felt ourselves getting drunk by osmosis watching "Mad Men."  There was more boozing than usual.  Don Draper won the Clio, which precipitated one of those lost weekends.  Roger sensed time passing and began becoming morose.  Even Joan picked up on that.  And those folks who like to hang around creatives/free spirits also kept drinking way too much.

Meanwhile, sober as a judge Peggy showed a side of herself that indicates she has the gut instinct to read situations right and the guts to take on just about anyone.  Tonight she stood naked body to naked body with the art director who compulsively talked about nudism.  Guess who blinked?  It wasn't Peggy.  She's even being more assertive with Draper, who has started in on blacking out, as all alcoholics eventually do.

Interesting flashbacks about how a determined, relentless Draper, once a fur salesman, got Roger to give him a job in advertising.  Draper closed the deal on that the way he knows best: he got Roger drunk.  In a blackout, Roger did or did not tell Draper: welcome aboard.  But since he was probably in a blackout, Draper just told him that he did hire him.

Down nostalgia row, there were allusions to "Peyton Place," the launch of Life cereal, and the famous daisy political commercial. 

We all wonder how much longer Draper et al. can keep up the drinking before tragedy happens.

"Mad Men" - Copywriter Peggy Olson, more resilient than we were

Tonight on  "Mad Men"we will get to observe again how an atypical professional woman for those days navigates animal house.  Fictional character Peggy Olson is what Kalinda is to "The Good Wife."  Enigmatic with a source of resilience not many women have and few of us Baby Boomers had back in those pre-liberation days, Olson is the most interesting presence on the show.  She can bounce back from a romance with a partner at the firm and put her copywriting ideas forward to The Boys in a low-key non-threatening manner. 

So, we wonder if when she gets power - and she has the good ideas to go far - if she will get even with this bunch who is so indifferent to her the person as well as the professional.  Or will she be shrewd enough not to channel her energy into a feud and let it simply flow into her work?

Another interesting character who Olson could align with is Don Draper's troubled daughter Sally.  She's now sentenced to four days a week with a shrink for cutting her hair and masturbating in public.  That girl has potential to shake up not only the smug crowd at the ad agency but also the world.  Perhaps Olson will hire her some day when she operates her own agency.