Email Newsletter Tips

A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Puppet
Mannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends, news from the world of puppets and ventriloquism, bits of humor and other interesting but useless information. I post every Tuesday and Friday.
My Background
What I Do
About Brown & Martin, Inc.

Vent Haven Ventriloquist Convention Schedule Set for 2009

Jeff Dunham, Jay Johnson, Sammy King, Jimmy Nelson and Kevin Johnson are just some of the well-known and celebrated professional ventriloquists who will be featured at the Vent Haven ConVENTion, July 15 through July 18.

For a complete schedule and details, click here.

You'll note that for the first time in a decade I'll not be leading a workshop, participating on a panel or appearing as a featured performer.  I know ... I ‘m as surprised as you are.  I mean who would you rather see ... Jeff, Jay, Jimmy, Sammy, Kevin or Dale? Oh wait. Now I understand ... Still, I'll miss seeing all of my Mannequin American friends. (I gotta get me a new partner.)

An Interview with Brian Henson

Speaking of puppets ... L.A. Weekly recently sat down for a chat with Brian Henson, the son of Muppet creator, Jim Henson. Click on the link to read the interview in which Brian talks about Puppet Up! Uncensored. It's a good read.

We've talked about Puppet Up! Uncensored before, but if you're not familiar with it, it's the world-renowned puppeteers of The Jim Henson Company at the improv ... and it's definitely not for children. It's uninhibited anarchy in a live audience setting. Here's a short Video Clip ... you'll have to verify your age. But it's office friendly.

Read This

Our good friend Gene Mueller of WTMJ radio recently wrote a very poignant blog titled, "My $283.64 Sunday ... and Other Musings. Read it. You'll probably feel a little better about being "you." It's touching, it's eloquent, it's timely and most importantly it displays the values and integrity that Gene inherited while growing up in Sheboygan, WI during gentler times. Dale actually printed Gene's blog out and gave copies to B&M employees.

Many of you know that in a previous life, Dale was a high school journalism teacher ... and Gene Mueller was one of his students. Dale takes no credit for Gene's well-crafted skills as a writer and journalist; but he does take pride in knowing Gene ... a true professional and a truly down-to-earth, nice guy. He's also someone who is as quick-witted as any Mannequin American I've ever met ... and I mean that as a compliment.

Email Newsletter Tips
People who subscribe to and read email newsletters are extremely fast at both processing their inboxes and reading newsletters. Research has found that the average time allocated to a newsletter after opening is only 51 seconds. (Average time spent on this blog hovers around two minutes) "Reading" is not even the right word since subscribers fully read only 19% of newsletter content.

One hundred and seventeen newsletters were included in the study. Eyetracking recordings revealed that 67% of users read no part of newsletter introductions and 35% of the time only skim small parts of newsletters or just glance at the content. Users often read only the first two words of a headline, so it's crucial to have brief headlines with information-carrying words.

People are protective of their time and will often trade off newsletters against each other to reduce email volume. A good newsletter can be booted if a better one comes along.

On the up side, the study concluded that email newsletters remain the best way to maintain customer contact and relationships via the internet.

If you'd like help with your email newsletter, email Dale at dale.l.brown@bmpr.com ... B&M designs, produces a writes successful newsletters for a number of companies.

Who Doesn't Like a Good Burger ... Bed?
Considering this nation's obsession with food and sleeping, I can't believe the idea of a Hamburger Bed has not come around before.

It should probably surprise no one, but the burger bed not only has a Web site, but a Facebook page with almost 5,000 friends.  And as soon as I find its Twitter feed, I will start following - I mean, who doesn't love a good burger?