What’s on my mind

Having launched cardiacscience.com last month and maintaining a blog (and Twitter account) for it, I find that keeping up with my own blog to be a bit of a challenge. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head. Maybe you’ll find the detritus interesting.

1. Cancun: I’m sitting poolside in Cancun. With a computer, you scoff?

Yes, I am the only one with a computer at the pool and the glare makes it very difficult to see the screen. But my kids are in the Kids Camp and Beth is reading her book right beside me.

Typing relaxes me. On vacation, I typically read and come up with ideas. I write them down and think, “When I get home I’ll act on these.” Then life catches up with me and I have 700 emails and three things past due.

The memories of the vacation and the ideas fade: I never get around to them. Perhaps with my computer I can act on them right away.

2. Author: I contributed to a book called “Connect: Marketing in the Social Media Era.” It just went on sale and all profits go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I met the book’s creator, Jeff Caswell, virtually. We met at one site and started to follow one another on Twitter. I enjoy projects like the book because it keeps me limber and gives me the chance to know other marketers.

3. Blurb.com: Months ago I blogged from a Biznik event about publishing a book using lulu.com. I discovered blurb.com (a competitive Web site) when I purchased a copy of Connect.

I asked Jeff and the Twitter community why blurb over lulu. Jeff said,

Blurb.com gives you the software to format your book for free. Your cost is entirely variable. They determine the cost per book and you set how much profit (if any) you choose per book.

If no books sell, you have no expense.

You can buy your own inventory and bundle it with a speaking engagement. Or promote the book on your Web site.

I’m intrigued.

4. PHP scripts: I took Robert Plank and Jason Fladlien’s online seminar called PHP copywriting. I learned how to write dynamic HTML pages.

Most Web pages are static: you write the content and it stays as is until you change it. With PHP, you can create scarcity with a countdown clock (how much time before the sale is over) or how many units are left or give a special offer for the first 10 buyers, for example.

I’m going to use some of my downtime here to write my first dynamic page.

5. AdWords campaign: I’m testing my way through my first AdWords campaign. It’s a bit of a trial-and-error game to find out what works.

It reminds me of Mark Strat – my favorite class at Wharton and the one that pushed me into marketing for a career. That class changed my life.

6. 61 flags: Maybe I’m the last one to use this outlook feature, but I recently started “flagging” those emails that require my follow up. It’s a sad state when I feel good to just have 61 flags. I worked last weekend to winnow the list down from 87.

Sadder still is that I don’t bother to flag the “really important things” – the big projects I have to complete. The flags are for the little things I otherwise would forget.

7. 10 comments: Robert and Jason (see #3) conclude each blog post with a request (plea?) for at least 10 comments.

It’s worth a try. What on my list interested you most? Let’s get up to 10 comments.
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Well, nice to be back in touch.