Personalized Publishing: Tastebook
Now here is an example of what smart publishing looks like. Tastebook was born out of a simple idea; anybody should be able personalize and create their own cookbook containing their favorite recipes.
Currently, with over 50,000 recipes to choose from partnered websites that include Epicurious.com (Gourmet and Bon Appétit databases), The Food Network, AllRecipes.com, My Recipes, Cooking Right, Southern Living, Coastal Living to name some, it is the perfect mashup cookbook that allows you to pick only your favorite dishes. You can now add Emeril Lagasse’s famous pork chops, a Nobu recipe from Bon Appétit, and also your own recipes if you use AllRecipes.com.
The guys at Tastebook really did their homework as is reflected on the quality of planning on their website. Their creation tool allows you to create your cookbook and view your creation virtually like the one featured on the left. So simple the use of Flash Actionscripting on their page-turning effect and so sophisticated a finish. When you’re done with the assembly and decide it is time to publish, you get a hard cover cookbook with beautiful color recipes that go into a binder which gives you the flexibility of adding recipes, just in case you missed one or want to add a few more in there!
I am so impressed with them that I could go on and on about how awesome I think Tastebook is, but you must watch their demo and experience it for yourself. I really think these guys are heading in the right direction as long as they maintain their momentum, watch their bank and add more services. This opens up so many possibilities for the millions of housewives, chef wannabes, and people who love and want to share personalized cookbooks as gifts. If you’re a foodie who cooks and love your food too you’re totally going to love this. Enjoy!
Email Marketing Is Not Rocket Science
I shudder at email marketers who talk incessantly about email best practices like your business would die unless you listen to them and practice what they preach. So-called e-mail marketing experts are not usability experts and what they say is a regurgitation of what is already common sense to Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Jill. The palatability of email isn’t rocket science.
Everyone knows people usually hate emails unless it is from their adulterous lover or children living 3000 miles away. Majority of emails are spam-ads that people dodge like the plague. Saying that, people still heavily depend on email for business and as a way of life as they willingly put up with all the crap that floods their inbox in exchange for the illusive satisfaction of “knowing.”
I guess you have an advantage there if you’re thinking of marketing via email. However, that advantage probably only gives you 2 seconds of your reader’s attention, before he or she decides their internet connection is too slow to download the pretty graphics you’ve laboriously designed. At the end of the day, the game has not changed. Email is merely a channel just like print flyers are, although being instantly interactive means you can provide a more convenient way for your readers to respond to whatever incitement you choose to dish out to them.
I insist that the game and rules haven’t changed. People will still only give their attention to brands and the people they trust. In the end, the longterm success of your business depends on TRUST, SERVICE AND QUALITY.
Saying that, email is a great way to maintain relationships with your customers and to keep them informed about things that matter to them. You still need a good marketing strategy but here’s some statistics and metrics from EmailLabs to satisfy your need to know whether you are a service provider or business looking to use email as a channel of delivery.
