How many times have you heard someone say, “Trust me”? Those are empty words unless the person has proven trustworthy through past actions. When you get a newsletter from the first time, it’s rarely possible to decide whether or not you want to continue receiving it. If it’s a bad issue—well, everyone has off days. If it’s a good one—could be luck or could be simply a grand newsletter. So you save judgment ’til after receiving a few issues.

Email newsletters help build trust—not alone, however. The company’s Web site, customer service and general all-around handling of business build trust. Trust can’t be bought and sold. For example, I shop Land’s End once in a while. They carry quality products, but I’ve sent back a couple of items because they weren’t comfortable. My daughter had a backpack with wheels from the company. I hated spending that much, but the company’s quality guarantee pushed me to buy it. Read the latest issue of
eNewsletter Journal.

By the way, the link to the Web Credibility article from the feature broke and we could not find where the recent study report went … but all of the stuff from the group is at Web Credibility Project.

Interestingly enough, I just wrote about Hard Times for Hard News when The Dallas Morning News debuted a new section today called Points. It’s encouraging readers to provide feedback. So far, I have not run into a registration-required page in the Points section. I have an account with The Dallas Morning News, but if the newspaper wants to invite many folks and perspectives, it needs to avoid potential barriers, registration being one. The first Points asks, “Is Dallas good for smart people?” Yes, it is, but there is more to smarts than IQs.

Dave Taylor is the communications director at David Suzuki Foundation. The organization uses Marqui’s CMS to manage its site.

What were your basic requirements when you began looking for a CMS?

We needed something simple that didn’t require technical expertise to use, had a built-in subscriber database capacity, and a timed release function.

What other CMSes did you look at besides Marqui?

We looked at one other—there weren’t many back then. I think it has since been absorbed by another company or gone out of business.

Since CMSes are so customizable and not easy to “try” before you buy, how did you look at the various CMSes to determine whether or not it met your needs? In other words, what was the process to shop for a CMS?

Marqui (Maestro at the time) suited our needs, was a local company, offered
a decent rate and had functions the other did not. It also had good
references.

How long have you been using it?

Five years.

Whoa! What are the things that have changed most in the five years you’ve been using Marqui (Maestro)?

Customer service has vastly improved since we started with Maestro. The technology has also greatly improved. It still isn’t perfect, but it works for us and the company continues to improve it.

How many use it? What are their roles?

About a dozen have access and half that number use it regularly. Mostly
communications specialists, but some biologists and administrators too.

What was the process of getting started with it and set up?

We imported our site into Maestro quite easily. Then it was a process of
ironing out any bugs or missing sections and links. We have a huge site, so
that took a while, but the problems were easily fixed.

How did you roll it out to your organization?

We just turned it on! We also emailed our members and urged them to check it out.

What kinds of feedback do the users have about Marqui?

Our users like it because it is reliable and easy to use. It also enables us to react quickly and reach out to our members on developing issues. Knowledge is power. Getting the right information to the right people at the right time is essential to bring about change.

Disclaimer… blah blah… Marqui pays me… blah blah… to blog my opinion… yadda yadda.

The cost of ethics discusses companies sponsoring and paying bloggers to mentioned its products and services. As you know, I’ve been discussing Marqui every week since December. However, I do have my own code of ethics, which is identical to the six listed in the article:

* Disclose, disclose, disclose. Transparency—of actions, motives and financial considerations—is the golden rule of the blogosphere.

* Follow your passions. Blog about topics you care deeply about.

* Be honest. Write what you believe.

* Trust your readers to form their own judgments and conclusions.

* Reputation is the principal currency of cyberspace. Maintain your independence and integrity—lost trust is difficult to regain.

I explained my beliefs and why I am doing this in the first entry. After doing this for almost three months, I would do it again. Simply because I have a family to support and I know I’m an honest person who can report things as I see them not as what the sponsors think I should say.

In the last couple of issues, I asked readers to try to mix and match companies with their related pitches. The results are published in the newest issue of eNewsletter Journal. You can try your hand at it before reading the article. No peeking!

The usual disclaimer: Marqui pays me to talk about them.

OK, Nick. Mark this as read and move on. I learned from DL that Nick is ignoring the Marqui postings. I don’t hold it against him. He and everyone else has the right to decide what to read and not read.

There’s been a flurry of activity in the last week or so. Marqui’s blog is finally awake. The latest entry references a competitor who has called the company and its Pay Blogger program, “pond scum.” Thank you, I’ve always wanted a nickname. Could it be the guy is jealous of the publicity Marqui has gotten with its program? I think it’s more than paid for itself. the head lemur and GeekCentral share their opinions of Mr. Calls-us-pond-scum and his claims we’re hiding the fact we’re paid.

Once again. I would’ve NEVER agreed to do this if Marqui said I must say only good things about the company. Pshaw. No matter my financial situation, my honest opinion is not for sale.

DL also reports on the upcoming Blog Business Summit. I hope some of the reports will be in text because it looks like it’s gonna be somethin’ because Marqui will be there as well as its “pond scum” name calling competitor. As you guys know, I can’t benefit from podcasts like the one with Stephen King (not author), CEO of Marqui unless there is a transcript.

I don’t know how I missed this post about the SEO controversy. I like and respect Robin Good. But honestly, his criticism post was too long for me to read. With so much information to read, having the most important points at the beginning would’ve helped. Since we’re being honest here, Robin, what’s up with the hat in your photo? It’s hard to see and looks funky. No offense, Robin.

Stephen King, President and CEO of Marqui, asked about BzzAgent and how is it similar / different to Marqui’s blogosphere program.

Like Marqui, BzzAgent is controversial, but it is all deemed a new approach to marketing. Bloggers have said good and bad things about both. Marqui’s program is new, so it’s too early to determine its results. However, it has increased “the company’s visibility online from 1048 Google hits in August, to 244,000 (in one November week).”

BzzAgent has helped create hits for its clients’ products including QBQ! (which I love), Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Unstuck, and non-books like Ralph Lauren Blue. Most of the books (as far as I know) have become best sellers, but a couple of them were best sellers before they arrived at BzzAgent. For instance, Eats, Shoots and Leaves soared the charts in England. Before it hit the US, it received a lot of attention even with well-respected newspapers and magazines.

Another is Seth Godin‘s Free Prize Inside. Seth is already a word of mouth hot shot. Was there any question that he wouldn’t make the best seller list? QBQ! is not a brand new book, but a re-release. Hey, I’m glad word spread about it otherwise I would’ve never known about it. Then there is Al Fresco Chicken Sausages. A New York Times article (free registration required… duh) mentioned BzzAgent indicated Al Fresco was a bzz product. I read the article and I wanted to know more about this product. I found the company’s Web site, and of course, there isn’t a place near me that carries the non-pork product (I don’t eat pork). Miracle of miracles, I accidentally came across the product at Target yesterday. So I bought it. Haven’t tried it yet. No one buzzed me about this product, but it obviously caught the newspaper’s attention and I learned about it there. On many occasions, I’ve read about a product in a newspaper and magazine and put it on my shopping list.

OK, back to the subject at hand… the difference between Marqui and BzzAgent. Here’s the BzzAgent Code of Conduct for reference. BzzAgents are not paid a set fee or even in cash. The only thing they get are the items they review and points for prizes. For every quality review reported about a product, BzzAgents receive points. They can use those points to get prizes—not just any prize… prizes from the list of stuff they have for each campaign.

Like Marqui—they can say good or bad things. After all, bad buzz is still good buzz. BzzAgents can buzz it anywhere and anytime. It does not have to be weekly or in a blog. There are no rules. It could be in person, stores, phone conversation, and online. The company’s risk comes in sending products to BzzAgents. Some may not be honest agents and never buzz anything so they can keep the products or they submit fake buzz to build up points. But the company watches for this.

What do you think of such marketing tactics? Would you say one is better than the other? Why? My opinion? I think they’re both effective as the word is getting out. It’s tough to compare their successes because Marqui sells a communications management system while BzzAgent markets tangible products ranging from five bucks to fifty bucks. Selling a CMS is hard because it is technically involved and it’s not something you can immediately understand and start using like reading a book. CMSes are important applications and it’s a matter of matching an organization’s needs to the CMS. David Suzuki Foundation uses Marqui’s CMS.

I’m one of them. I’ve been bought. Marqui has assimilated me, but I still retain control over my opinions. Some of you may have heard about it yesterday (here, here, here, here, here) and some may have not. So quick recap for those who haven’t:

What is the Marqui blogging program?

The company is paying bloggers to write about its CMS (content management system) product once a week, place a badge on their sites, and include a URL link. Marqui is doing this as a word-of-mouth marketing tool, which has proven powerful when using the Internet.

Why should we believe what you say about them if they’re paying you?

That’s what I like about this program. I can say *anything* I want, good or bad. The company won’t “fire” me if I write something negative about its product. Rather, it will use the information to make the product better. As a writer and editor, I rely on negative feedback. If I don’t get such feedback, I can’t become a better writer. I learn from such feedback.

I’m also a frequent product and book reviewer. Providing an unbiased review to inform readers about the product is the most important thing to me as a reviewer. The goal is to provide feedback enabling them to make a confident and sound purchasing decision.

Movie reviewers get paid. Before you think, “Hey, it’s not the TV station making the movies and paying them…” A major TV network is owned by a huge company that also produces movies (hint: think ears). The movie critics on that TV station aren’t giving thumbs up to every movie produced by the company.

I accepted the challenge for a few reasons:

* To be part of a new marketing revolution and I’m into online marketing.

* I enjoy blogging and writing about products. It’s not often I’m paid to do something I love.

* Content management systems are supposed to make things easier on organizations, yet they struggle with usability problems as Jeffrey Veen explains in a couple of articles. I plan to study his notes and see how Marqui measures up.

* Marqui is taking a big risk and doing it with integrity, something that is hard to find today.

* Nothing is hidden or political (except for the paying bloggers part, which is stirring lots of debate). All the cards are laid out.

* Paul, my husband, has been out of work for 20 months and we have three kids to support. We need all the help we can get.

* I’m passionate about the Internet and want to participate in new experiments to see what works and what doesn’t in terms of business.

Rather than rehashing what fellow Marqui bloggers are saying, I’ll point the way as they share their stories and beliefs about this program. the head lemur, sooz, Richard McManus, Mitch Ratcliffe, Stowe, (not a Marquist, apologies.), Robin Good.

Thanks for all your input into my logo. I’ve gone with sample #1 and had it tweaked. Before this latest iteration, I experimented with two different fonts and that didn’t go well. So, back to the original font.

The difference is the shade of the name and title. The first one matches the graphic. The second one stands out. I am flip-flopping as usual (that’s me when it comes to making decisions impacting me). I’m concerned about whether it is bright enough for printing, but I don’t want the make the image darker. What do you think? two logo samples.

May I ask a favor? I’ve been needing to establish a character for meryl.net, the business. Here are three examples. I’d love to hear your thoughts – just comment below. Example 1. Examples 2 and 3. Oh, and, if you think something could use tweaking or a little something — say the word.

Update: Thank you, folks! I appreciate all the input. It looks like #1 is the clear winner with a few tweaks:

1. Replace :: with middle dot (like the current logo way up on the top of this page).

2. Soften / lighten blue circle to blend in with inside background. A
little strong.

3. Narrow the space between Meryl and .net / .n and et. Dot should be
more centered between meryl and net.

What about a slight font change? Maybe a little too flowery?