cruel to be kind

Every once in a while, a blogger just wants to blog about cool little gadgets or some additional stuff he comes across. Companies (should) love that free advertisement.

Like for example this Protectorz – little plastic things you can put on your Powerbook and protect USB ports etc.

I would like to include a picture of it, and you as a reader probably too, so you don’t need to click through to the webpage. It has a strong visual effect to see one and the same picture a dozen times over the day. If I for example say “new keyboard with color keys with IE and edonkey on it”, you will probably know what I am writing about.

But I can’t, because I do understand how copyright works: Unless I have explicit permission, I cannot publish those images. So let’s look at some facts:

• we have millions of blogs out there
• even more people read blogs
• many bloggers and readers are gadget loving geeks
• usually they do have money to spend – not only on gadgets
• if you are selling products and still have not heard about blogs, shoot yourself

From a marketing perspective, the best thing which can happen to me? Free advertisement and google juice from bloggers. It only needs some initial bloggers to pick it up.

What do those first bloggers do? They visit your website and try to get some good photos of the gadget they want to blog about. Or the new service.

So why the hell do those marketing people not make it easy for them to spread the word? After all, they are doing it for free?!

It is quite clear what bloggers want:

• Make it easy for me to blog about it: Offer blog ready text. Not press brochures, blog kits. Encourage me to blog about it.
• Tell me how you would like to be linked to and chances are, I might just copy and paste that
• Release pictures on your website under a licence which allows me to use it! No licence, no picture, less blog entries.
• I don’t want a high-res tiff. I want some cute little pictures, fitting into typical blog designs. Give me html code for those, including links. Can you spell backlinks?
• Offer black/white and color pictures. Your colors will not always go with my design.
• Don’t put ‘copyright by’ in your pictures, we don’t like that. Make clever pictures: Put your logo in the background.

And while we are at it: Make a blog kit about the rest of your your company too. And show me that RSS feed of yours! :)

Btw, I saw this problem of open ports while researching my tablet the last weeks. Why did the manufactors stopped making the protection they had some years ago?! They can’t honestly think I will like damages on these ports and gladly pay for repairs? If anyone knows of such protectors for the thinkpad x41, please mail. :)

Tags: Marketing, the small things