Barack’s supporters call me constantly, they text me and show up at my home. They stop me on the streets and fill my mailbox with marketing materials. Are they are harassing me…or, they are just doing their jobs? Probably the latter, but still!
Now, with the big Obama-Biden sign up in my front yard, I do wish they would spend the time to visit some homes with no signs or worse, homes with McCain signs. In the last week, volunteers showed up at my home 3-5 times, I lost count. Twice in one weekend. Every time I come home there is a door hanger on my door and a postcard in the mail. I voted for Barack this morning and I had 2 phone calls from Obama volunteers in less than 2 hours, after I voted. I got 2 phone calls yesterday, one after 9pm reminding me to vote…that’s after about 3 text messages. Guys, believe me I am on it. Now, I support Obama 125%. I purchased decals for my car, stickers for my body and signs for my home. I do my part by spreading the word via email, text and my social networking sites. I have even made a few monetary contributions to the campaign. Now, I know they want to be sure I get out and vote, which is all fine and dandy. A big turn out is good for the Obama campaign. But good Lord! I feel like every time they knock on the door I need to duck and hide!
I do admit, they do a damn good job. I have received so many flyers, calls, emails and text messages telling me where to vote and what time the polls open and close and who to call if something goes wrong, I would be a damn fool not to have my act together. Really, everything I needed to know the Obama campaign provided. And if I forgot, you best believe that they were there with a reminder (they must have ESP!).
So yes, while I felt a little uh…smuggled,snuggled , by the influx of attention I received from the Obama volunteers, it’s for a noble cause. As we stand on the brink of making history, and electing the person is by far, hands down the best man for the job, I am overjoyed that others share the same sentiment and have volunteered their time to get out the vote. These people were unrelenting, educated, informed and passionate. I commend the Obama campaign for doing such a great job, from A to Z, from strategy to fundraising…they, for lack of a better term, did the damn thing! If Obama can run a campaign this sharp, imagine what he will do as President of the U.S.!
Funny though, I never received a call, knock on the door, email or any outreach attempt by the McCain campaign. Which is interesting because I am a registered Independent! While the polls show Barack with slight leads over McCain, based on my experience with the tenacity and strategies of the Obama campaign, I am expecting a landslide!
Looking back at what the last eight years of failed policies have done to this country, I am looking forward to better days that Barack will help usher in. So, Senator Obama, you can call me anytime!
Gotta go…my phone is ringing. I’m betting it is Barack’s campaign on the line!
It’s that time of the year again…when all the goblins and ghouls come out to trick or treat citizens. Well, the McCain campaign came out a little early this year, with a trick of their own. A McCain volunteer Ashley Todd
accused a dark-skinned black man of robbing and then carving a B in her cheek after seeing a GOP bumper sticker on her car (it had to be a black man, didn’t it!).
Conservative bloggers were all over this, slamming Barack Obama for inciting this type of violence, so they said. The Drudge report in which I participated in providing my own 2 cents against their slanted, biased story had hundreds of comments from ignorant Republicans who believed this crazy story. The Obama campaign issued a statement condemning the “attacks” and both McCain and Palin reportedly called the girl.
While I don’t believe John McCain personally was behind it, based on the McCain campaign track record, I wouldn’t put it past someone in his campaign to orchestrate such a story. This story sent Repubs crazy…bloggers reported that people were saying how black men hate white women and are prone to random acts of violence and making other racially motivated statements prompted no doubt to say those things by the incident.
This was possibly a set up by someone in the McCain campaign to play the race card, opening the floodgates in an effort to bring up Barack’s former Pastor Wright. I believe that this is exactly what this was, because if they could have set up a racially motivated hate crime…they would have begun linking Obama to Wright all over the place. And of course, they think that Wright is a racist that hates white people.
But the McCain campaign’s strategies have proved to be dismal failures, and this hoax no different. I hope this puts the final nail into the coffin for the McCain campaign.
Hopefully someone will tell this girl the next time she wants to pull a fast one, at least make the letter look like it wasn’t “carved” in a mirror. geez… One thing we don’t have to worry about anytime soon is running out of idiots in this country!
I got this email today from Steve Harrison at freepublicity.com. I love it! Barack has created a marketing
machine that we have never seen before and Steve's email below does a good job with summing it all up.
This are not my words, these are Steve's. But this is so good I just had to share. For more information
on Steve, please visit his site at:
http://www.MillionDollarAuthorClub.com/?10667
Six marketing lessons from Barack Obama
(Note: This article originally appeared as part one
of a two-part series in my Book Marketing Update
print newsletter. For info go here now: http://www.MillionDollarAuthorClub.com/?10667
"Barack is worth millions now. It's almost all based on
these two books. Being able to take your life story and
turn it into this incredibly lucrative franchise, it's
a stunning fact."
-- Peter Osnos, former publisher of Times Books,
as quoted in the New York Times.
No matter which candidate you like (or dislike) in the
current presidential race, one thing is obvious: Barack
Obama is one heck of a marketer.
Think about it. Back in 2003, who would have thought
back then that today the Democratic nominee for the highest
office in the land would be someone who has yet to even
serve a full term in the Senate?
He's never been a mayor, governor or corporate
executive. He's never served in the military. He's
never led a large organization. He's never drafted a
landmark piece of legislation. Prior to now, he'd never
run a national campaign. And he even admits to having
used marijuana and cocaine!
Add to that a name like Barack Hussein Obama, and you
can see why back in 2003, he would have been considered
"most unlikely to succeed." And that's really the first
lesson to learn from Obama.
=> Lesson #1: Don't let any perceived lack of
qualifications stop you.
I regularly talk with authors and experts who know
a lot about their fields and have great information
to share with others.
But many are held back by a belief they're not
"qualified" simply because they're not the world's
leading authority on their topic.
Others stagnate for years because they don't have a
particular degree (which usually most of their
prospects don't even know exists).
You need to be competent at what you do, but the
fact is you don't need to be the MOST accomplished,
MOST knowledgeable, MOST credentialed expert in your
field to be successful.
You do however need to be very good at marketing
yourself and your message. Rightly or wrongly,
marketing is more important than qualifications.
Think about it. Would you ever take relationship advice
from a former celibate monk, who then married, and
divorced?
Yet, John Gray has sold 40 million copies of
"Men Are From Mars Women Are from Venus" with that
background. People buy his message, not his resume. Same
thing with Obama.
Obama hasn't let any apparent lack of qualifications
stand in the way of making himself a wealthy, best-
selling author (3 million copies in print to date) and
the Democratic nominee for the highest political office
in the land. You shouldn't let any hole or flaw in your
resume stop you from getting where you want to go.
=> Lesson #2: Work at becoming a master storyteller--
especially when telling your own story.
People don't care nearly as much about your credibility
as they do about your story and how you can help them.
Obama first intended to write a book about race
relations. He soon realized he could make his points
more profoundly by sharing them in the context of his
own life story.
In his first book, "Dreams From My Father," he shares his
experiences and challenges of growing up as a biracial
child in two different cultures. He acknowledges using
composite characters, approximated dialogue, and even
taking events out of chronological order to make his
points through effective storytelling.
How about you? Are you making the most of your "before" and
"after" story?
Are you telling your own personal story about why you
do what you do in a way that connects with your
audience?
Are you telling stories which agitate people's pain and
shows them how much they need what you provide?
This kind of effective storytelling is so important
that I devote a significant part of my Quantum Leap
Publicity & Marketing Program to helping my clients
simply tell their stories in a more memorable,
compelling way.
=> Lesson #3: Focus on building your mailing list.
When it came time to announce Joe Biden as his running
mate, instead of doing the standard press conference
type announcement, Obama used the pick as a way to
build his email mailing and text message contact list
by promising that those on his list would be the first
to know his choice.
It was a brilliant move because like any sharp
marketer, Obama knows "the money is in the list" and
everything else being equal, the more people on your
list the more you'll sell.
By giving millions of people a compelling incentive to
sign up for his list, he's able to stay in regular
touch with them and raise a lot more money than he
would otherwise.
=> Lesson #4: Whenever possible, meet the media face-
to-face.
The New York Times recently wrote a great article about
Obama's rise and success as an author. It talks about
how, back in 1995, Barack Obama was totally unknown. He
contacted the publisher of N'Digo, a magazine aimed at
Chicago's upscale black readers. and asked if he could
drop by.
Why? Because he wanted the publisher to review his
book. Like all great politicians, he knew the value of
meeting face-to-face.
Later, this same editor, who initially decided NOT to
review his book, became the first to run Obama on the
cover of her magazine.
That's the kind of "good luck" that happens when you
stand out from the media's daily barrage of emails,
press releases, faxes and phone calls by actually
pressing flesh.
=> Lesson #5: Be determined and pleasantly persistent.
Back in 1995, Barack Obama was relatively unknown and
trying to get whatever publicity he could.
So even though he wanted to meet the N'Digo book
reviewer, he ultimately failed to persuade her to
review his book. But here's the key. He didn't give up. He
persisted. "He would call me every week and say,
'Did you read my book?'" the publisher told the New York
Times.
Let me ask you, do you have that kind of persistence?
In 20 years of helping authors sell more books, I've
discovered 95% of all authors give up way too quickly
and easily. They're not determined and persistent.
But Million Dollar Authors are the ones who know how to
be pleasantly persistent. They're not considered pests
because they're always friendly, always patiently
staying in touch and continually giving the media some
new information or slant worth considering.
=> Lesson #6: Get feedback and act on it.
Most authors write a book and say, "I'm finished."
But that's not what Obama did. He did what Million
Dollar Authors do. He knew once his manuscript was
finished his real job had only just begun.
Obama sent several dozen drafts of his second book "The
Audacity of Hope" to friends, media, legislators and
followed up with them and asked them for feedback.
More importantly, he listened to what they had to say,
and made changes based on their feedback. If anyone
could have said, "I don't have time" to do this, it
would be a first term senator. But he didn't.
Like most Million Dollar Authors, he knows this
concerted effort to solicit feedback and make changes
to the manuscript is the key to creating a book that
connects with people's hearts.
It's also the key to writing a book that others
recommend to their friends. No wonder Obama's message
of "Change" has been so on target. He's a good
listener, and he adapts to feedback he receives.
One last thought. John McCain's campaign has been
stunned by Obama's success at fundraising and
campaigning. To date, they have been seriously
outmarketed and don't know what to do about it.
They remind me of unsuccessful authors who complain
that they're more qualified and have better material
than others who are more famous and established.
Resist the temptation to dismiss others as simply being
"great speakers" or "good marketers." Instead, watch
them and learn. Because if you're really serious about
making a difference, you need to realize you're not in
the publishing game. You're in the marketing game. Barack
Obama knows it ... do you?
Sarah Palin, the Republican VP candidate has been stumped once again. Not by the liberal media elite, oh no, not this time; but by a 3rd grader. An inquisitive 3rd grader wanted to know what it is exactly that VP’s do. Palin responded that “they’re in charge of the U.S. Senate, so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes” Sarah, try again. Really, you should have said you would get back to him with an answer (has Palin ever gotten back to Katie Couric yet?).
Now, Joe Biden gaffes…sometimes he just needs to zip it. Biden for all his gaffes at least has a clue, he is smart, articulate and is ready to be #1 if the call ever comes. Biden just goes to far, not because he is clueless, just passionate. Palin is also passionate, just passionately clueless. 55% of people believe that Palin is not ready to be #1 and 47% of voters feel uncomfortable with her (source: http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WSJ_NBCPoll_102108.pdf).
Sarah, the Constitution actually states “The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided”. So VP’s “don’t get in there” to “make a lot of good policy changes”. They are called to break a tie vote…thats about it.
I guess next thing you know the McCain campaign will be complaining that the 3rd grader was a plant by the liberal media elite. You know, Sarah can’t answer a question correctly, but it’s not her fault…its a set up by the liberal media elite…it’s always a set up…yeah…ok….
Goodness! Sarah, please refrain from any additional interviews. Stick to scripted stump speeches, smiling, winking and fancy pageant walkin’.
Did anyone see SNL on Saturday? Well, I missed it…but did catch a recap on the news today. While Sarah Palin played herself, Amy (playing Palin) performed the funniest rap…it was hilarious! Palin on the while sitting there and bopping like a fool to a rap that was mocking her! In case you missed it here are the words…
one two three
my name is sarah palin you all know me
vice president nominee of the gop
gonna need your vote in the next election
can i get a ‘what what’ from the senior section
mccain got experience, mccain got style
but don’t let him freak you out when he tries to smile
cause that smile be creepy
but when i be vp
all the leaders in the world gonna finally meet me
how’s it go eskimo
(eskimos)
tell me what you know eskimo
(eskimos)
how you feel eskimo
(ice cold)
tell me tell me what you feel eskimo
(super cold)
i’m jeremiah wright cause tonight i’m the preacha
i got a bookish look and you’re all hot for teacha
todd lookin fine on his snow machine
so hot boy gonna need a go between
in wasilla we just chill baby chilla
but when i see oil lets drill baby drill
my country tis a thee
from my porch i can see
russia and such
all the mavericks in the house put your hands up
all the mavericks in the house put your hands up
all the plumbers in the house pull your pants up
all the plumbers in the house pull your pants up
when i say ‘obama’ you say ‘ayers’
obama. (ayers) obama (ayers)
i built me a bridge – it ain’t goin’ nowhere.
(ohhh)
mccain, palin, gonna put the nail in the coffin
of the media elite
(she likes red meat)
shoot a mother-humpin moose, eight days of the week
[three gunshots]
now ya dead, now ya dead,
cause i’m an animal, and i’m bigger than you
holdin a shotgun walk in the pub
everybody party, we’re goin on a hunt
la la la la la la la la
[six gunshots]
