Archive for month: July, 2008

> If you haven’t already read my previous blog on fan loyalty for sale, please click here to catch up.

Today marks the second full day of Alex Chatfield being a full-blown fan of a team other than the Cleveland Indians. He has written a blog about his experience in placing his loyalty up for sale on his MySpace page.

I have to admit, I was skeptical of just why he did this. But, after reading his blog I do have a better understanding of why he would do this – not saying that I would ever do it, but I empathize.

Alex provides a moving story of going to Cleveland Municipal Stadium back when there were only a few thousand fans in the seats and knowing “the trick” of talking to the players during the 5th inning.

Although the team is not revealed, I have requested him as a friend on MySpace (per his eBay auction notes) to get the low down for you, our loyal readers.

By the way, the part of this that is especially interesting is that Alex doesn’t even live in Ohio! He lives in Davenport, Florida and is originally from Middlefield, Ohio.

Does this make you want to market yourself (or your company) in some crazy, off beat way? Share your thoughts.

-Katy

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True, selling yourself on eBay probably isn’t the best idea. But for Alex Chatfield, there was no other way to enjoy the remainder of the baseball season. You see, Chatfield is a Cleveland Indians fan, as am I, and we are somewhat used to not winning lately. Mostly that is thanks to the 10-game losing streak we were on for the first time since 1973. (As a matter of fact, until yesterday’s 13-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays we had not won a game since June 27th!)

Chatfield has had enough and decided to list his fan loyalty for sale on eBay. The starting bid is $299.00 for which you will receive the following (as quoted from his ad):

1. I will watch at least one game a week of your favorite team and root as hard as I can for them to win.

2. I will send you at least 3 emails a week telling you how awesome your team is and or discussing what your team needs to do to get better (in my opinion).

3. I will wear (at your expense) any appropriate apparel (meaning Male officially sanctioned MLB merchandise) for your team. You will recieve one digital photo of me wearing this garb for each item you purchase and send to me.

4. I will root for your team for the remaining 2008 season and for the 2008 Post Season, after that, I am no longer requried to root for your team.

5. I will email a friend of yours and tell them why their team sucks, and why your team is awesome. (limit 3 emails – no profanity)

Careful though. If you are a Boston Red Sox fan, that will cost you an extra $3,500. Do you prefer to root for Jim Thome’s team? An extra $1,500. Yankees? Prepare to spend an additional $10,000. What about Roger Clemens? That’ll be $5,000 additional. And Barry Bonds? A whopping $35,000!

This begs the question if Chatfield is a fairweather fan or if simply needs some extra money. In either case, Chatfield is marketing himself to users all over the world – and in a very creative idea. This story has made the local news and the hits on his eBay ad are increasing by the minute.

When in marketing, especially in marketing yourself, ensure you are saying what you want to say and not leaving your loyalty out to dry.

-Katy

>When I first started to research blogging I was a little confused on how I would keep track of the HUGE amount of traffic coming to our blog.

I first started using FeedBurner, but was greatly disappointed because of the lack of efficiency in the program. Sure, it was easy to use but after weeks of showing not having any visitors I became a little skeptical. I continued searching for more tracking sites without any luck.

I contacted Kristi Gustafson, or as I call her the “real Carrie Bradshaw,” who runs an extremely popular blog for the Times Union in Albany, New York. She guided me to a site called StatCounter.

StatCounter.com tracks not only the number of visitors to your site, but provides you with the length of the visitor’s stay, the pages they visited and even their location. I decided to give it a try, what could it hurt?

Sorry FeedBurner, we are actually having visitors reading our blog daily. StatCounter is reliable, easy to use and my new best friend. Who would have thought you could see a map of the world with markers representing your visitors? StatCounter makes that happen. You can also see which blog topics your readers most often read and their reading pattern throughout your blog.

Go ahead bloggers, give StatCounter a try.

-Katy

>Question: Have you ever been on a phone call and wondered how to politely suggest telephone manner tips to the person on the other end?

I have. Out of a recent conversation about a phone interview gone wrong, it is obvious everyone knowing the basics of telephone etiquette is a misconception. Most of these tips I am sure you have heard before, but here are a few in case you have forgotten.

– When on the phone, smile. Callers on the other end will hear it in your voice and will most likely be more pleasant in response.

– Identify yourself. When initiating a phone call of which the recipient is not familiar with you, make sure you clearly identify yourself, what company you work for and why you are calling.

– Actively listen. Pretend you are face to face with the person on the other end. Become engaged in the conversation and ask questions if you are unsure of the answer.

– Practice makes (almost) perfect. It sometimes is easier to role play the phone call before you actually make it. Practicing may help avoid some stumbling blocks you weren’t initially aware of.

– Open communication lines. If you have a voicemail, check it often enough that it remains empty. This will avoid callers receiving a “mailbox is full” message when trying to get in touch with you.

– The wind tunnel curse. We’ve all either been there or been on the other end. If it is windy outside and you are trying to talk on your cell phone, It is highly unlikely the person on the other end of the phone will be able to understand anything you say. Please wait until you are indoors to make a phone call.

– Common courtesy. It is true – “Please” and “thank you” go a long way.

– Umm… you know? Take note of sentence fillers you may say without realizing and make an effort to avoid them.

– Snacking prohibited. Make an effort to avoid eating or drinking while on the phone. The person on the other end will thank you.

– Always return your phone calls. “It is the right thing to do,” as my Mom (and yours) would say.

Try to keep these in mind the next time you are on the phone… after all, anytime you are on the phone you are marketing yourself. Go ahead, give yourself something to brag about.

-Katy