Cat's Eye Marketing Blog

The Cat from Cat's Eye: In Memory of the Nuz

No blog post has been harder to write than this one. But I have my kleenex close by. So here goes.

 A pet is hard to lose.

 A pet that showed up at a special time in your life is very hard to lose.

 We called him the Great White Cat. His name was Nuz.

He would have been mortified if he knew that it was short for Nuzzle. We named him that because he would stand on his hind legs like a pony and give us strong head butts until we thought he was going to knock us over.

 Extreme nuzzles.

 

How Nuz found us

Some of you have heard the story. Bear with me because I need to tell it one last time.

It was April 1993 in Ocean Shores, Washington. Bob and I were giddy with excitement. We had spent hours and hours thinking of a name for the graphic design business we had just created.

We had scribbled dozens of ideas on post-it-notes and pressed them on the white board. The notes stuck, but none of the names did.

Until Bob turned to me and said, "Cat's Eye."

The cat's eye conjured up the ability to focus, attention to detail, curiosity about new things—everything that would make a design company sharp.

It was decided. Cat's Eye it would be.

Just hours later, in the midst of a wild spring storm, through the sound of the wind and pelting rain, I heard a faint cry. I opened the patio door and there was a tiny, frail, soaking wet, white kitten, shaking violently.

I brought him inside, dried him off and turned him around. It was then that I saw the cat's eyes. One was green and the other blue. It was a sign. 

He was all kinds of sick. Fleas. Worms. And an upper respiratory infection that left him on IVs for two days.

But he was spunky and he survived.

Quirky Nuz

He was quirky, this cat. It was as if he had searched for us because he knew he would fit right in.

He was several animals in one and could take on the personality of each. Kind of like a writer does.

Early on, when he jumped up on our bed, we learned that if we threw a small object, say a wrapped cough drop, he would fly through the air, catch it in his mouth, trot back up to us and drop it. Then came the stare that meant, "Throw it again. Please throw it again."

He learned the command, "In position!" and when one of us would say it, he would walk to the end of the bed and sit up, waiting for us to throw it again.  

He could fetch. He was a dog.

Sometimes he would jump up on the bed in the middle of the night and we would hear a plop. It was Pépe, his furry purple hand puppet. He had carried him in with his mouth, fully expecting us to play.

Other times he would scale our stone fireplace that went from floor to ceiling—without the harness a climber uses. He was a mountain goat.

He climbed to the top of our Christmas tree one year and knocked it over. Okay he was just being himself that time. Bad cat.

For a few months, our daughter's cat Alex stayed with us. Not exactly the perfect role model, he showed Nuz how to pull food from the cupboards and refrigerator. 

One day after Alex was gone, we came home to a mess. Nuz had climbed up onto the kitchen counter, opened the cupboard and dragged an opened bag of potato chips onto the floor. Bad cat.

He loved cantaloupe and corn and Pudding Pops. Yes, he was a little weird.

He had great taste in music. We moved three times with him and the only thing that would calm him down in the car were the sounds of James Taylor, BB King or Pavarotti.

 

Business partner Nuz

He was the Cat's Eye mascot from day one and took on the role with class.

He was in our print ads. In one, he was sprawled out on the carpet on his side. The ad's headline said, "Relax. Cat's Eye will take care of it."

He was fascinated by the fax machine and waited by it, as if he was our assistant, watching the paper until it finally came through on the other side. Never could quite teach him to bring us the fax, though. Sometimes he got tired of watching and would fall asleep.

The press loved him. In 2000, when Cat's Eye won the Best in the Northwest Family Business of the Year award, his photo was on the big screen as the master of ceremonies told the story of our name, and of Nuz. A day later, he was in The Puget Sound Business Journal.

He was unimpressed.

 

The day that was different

Monday, November 2, was a typical day. Except, come to think of it, for a week or so, Nuz had been spending more time on our bed at night. More than he usually did.

That night, he left for his own soft bed in the living room at 10.

At 2:30 Tuesday morning, a strange crinkling noise woke me up. I turned on the light and there was Nuz, pawing at the cover of the New Yorker magazine I had left on the floor.

He didn't look right. I pulled him onto the bed. He couldn't stand up. His eyes were dark.

I wrapped him in the soft UW Huskies blanket he loved and called the vet hospital. Our problem:  the first ferry from the island to the mainland didn't leave until 6:30.

When I described the symptoms, the women on the other end of the phone, said,

"Wrap him in a blanket. Turn the lights down low and hold him."

I did. He died in my arms at 4:45am, Tuesday, November 3.

He wasn't destined to catch the 6:30 ferry.

I like to think that he managed to somehow make it to our bedroom that night because he wanted to tell us that he was leaving us. And because he did that, I got to spend his last two hours with him.

He was a good cat.

Rest in peace, sweet Nuz.

 1993 - 2009. 

Who Are You, Anyway?: Showing Up Online

It's been a strange week. I'm in day 10 of the crappy upper respiratory stuff.

Type. Cough. Sniffle. Repeat.

I'm keeping my water glass to myself and trying not to breathe on Bob. In fact, it would be better if I just didn't breathe at all, his eyes are saying.

And why is everyone talking about website bios all of a sudden?

This week had a weird synchronicity to it. People have been talking about website bios and social media profiles. In phone calls. On Twitter. On forums. In emails.

Everywhere. 

For a minute, I thought they'd all gone crazy. Then I put it together.

It's what I've been working on all week for clients. Fun, memorable bios. About Us pages. Social media profiles.

Bios are on my brain. So of course I'm paying attention more.

You know, like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see all the other ones on the road just like it? They were always there, but you just noticed them.

Showing up online: part II

This past week, I had lots of smart questions from people struggling to create their bios, to boil down the essence of who they are in a short paragraph or two—in a way that is consistent and that attracts the people they want to work with.

Here are some starter tips:

1. Align your profile and website bio with your brand.

Your website gives people a good idea of who you are (or it should). But if the bio on your website, the one on your blog and the one on Facebook sound like you are talking about three different people, I'd say you have a problem. Unless you have multiple personality disorder. Then, of course, it would make perfect sense.

Connect your profile with your brand. If you are playful, and your website copy reflects that, so should your profile. Got a quirky sense of humor? Go with it. Someone tweeted a line from my website bio on Twitter yesterday: She said, "@CatsEyeWriter's website bio says she can juggle, has been to Timbuktu and can say, 'Four knives will be sufficient' in Swahili. I LOVE THIS!"

Everything I said was true. And, yes, a little quirky. Just like me.

Just be sure you show yourself in a real and consistent way—across all platforms.

2. Tell what you do best—and for whom.

When I am browsing through Twitter profiles and bios or visiting someone's About Us page on their website, I am attracted to the ones that deliver their messages with style and originality.

One of my Twitter friends, Havi Brooks, says it this way on her website's About Havi page: 

My duck and I (okay, the duck is a little weird and that could be a blog post all by itself) help bright, creative kooky people (who she does it for) destuckify their stuff so they can do their thing (what she does best).

She goes on to say:

So they can work through all the overwhelming, sometimes-terrifying goo that gets in the way of doing what they love and biggifying it like crazy.

When I read this, I know right away. Either I am her target market or I am not.

3. Leave the cardboard person at the doorstep.

I saw a small business networking site recently that warned its members to only enter "basic business information" into their profile. They said, "It's not about you personally. It's a business profile.

I couldn't disagree more, particularly if you are a small biz owner. People who are deciding whether to interact with you are looking for someone real.

Asking yourself a few of these questions will help you uncover—and show—the real, multi-dimensional you:

1. What three things do you believe most about people?

2. What is the one thing you've done in your life that you are most proud of?

3. What's the one thing you haven't done yet that you want to do before you die?

4. What three adjectives best describe you?

5. Which movie or TV character are you most like and why?

6. What's your favorite food or beverage?

7. Name the two things that bug you the most when they happen.

Use phrases from these answers to make a list. From that list, mix and match until you come up with the whole person that best describes you.

On Twitter, it's a challenge to do that in just 160 characters, but that's part of the fun. And it's the very process that gets you to the core of who you are.

My Twitter profile says:

Slightly neurotic copywriter. Loves strong verbs, creating unique online identities, oaky Merlot & John Cleese. Thinks the word cree-A-tive is overused.

4. Act online in ways that match your profile.

People are getting to know and, hopefully, trust you, so your online behavior and the copy in your bio should not clash. Who you are should not change. Whether you write an article for a social networking site like Biznik, create a new blog post or make a comment on Twitter, stay true to yourself.

5. Play with the content as you change and grow.

You aren't going to be the same person you are today. None of us are. Hey, next year you might climb Mt. Everest. Or write a book. Or become a goalie on a women's indoor soccer team (which one of my clients did) You might join the hole-in-one club. Or master conversational French.

Profiles are easy to edit. Be sure to do that regularly so when things change, your customers, prospects and colleagues can keep up with all the cool things you are doing.

What does your profile say about you?

'Crazy Cat' Edition: Does the Real You Show Up Online?

My odd-eyed Turkish Van cat Nuz has multiple personality disorder. 

Okay, he doesn't really show multiple personalities because he's a cat. It's more like multiple animalities.

He usually displays them when he's trying to talk me into something. But sometimes it's when he's yawning. Or bird watching.

This morning, I swear to God, he did this short "whinny" sound, just like a pony.

I was working on the laptop at the dining room table. After neighing, he trotted into the kitchen and sat on the tile by the refrigerator, with that laser-focused stare of his aimed at me. The old Friskies Chicken and Salmon con game.

A cat with identity issues

Nuz, at different times, and God only knows for what reasons, has made a flat, nasal sound—sort of like a duck—chattered like a squirrel, and warbled like a songbird. Sometimes he produces a perfectly mimicked bull's snort. He even growls like a bulldog and, oddly enough, fetches pieces of wadded up paper and drops them at my feet, ears perked, waiting for me to toss them across the room again.

Problem is, Nuz never knows who he is. I never know who he is until he shows up. And when he does, he decides who he wants to be at that moment.

Not your consistent, "I can trust you because I know you will always be a cat" kind of guy.

Do you have identity issues? 

I'm working with a couple of new clients who have asked me exciting, insightful questions from the start. Stuff that made me feel how lucky I am to be playing in their sandbox.

"I want you to help me figure out who I am, said one, an executive coach with a highly specialized and very cool niche, "and how to build an online identity that shows how unique I am."

I wanted to get up right then and there and do a back flip. (Didn't, though. There wasn't enough room in this particular Starbucks.)

The other client, a leadership development trainer, said, "I want a website that shows my values and personality, complete with my crazy sense of humor."

Wow. Two people in one week who get how important it is to have a face and a unique voice on the Web.

Find your true self. And show it.

Before I help these two clients create their perfect blogs and websites, I'll be taking each of them through a thinking process, with questions such as these, so their real selves show up consistently and they attract the people who are comfortable working with him and who they were meant to serve:

What are the top three things you believe about people?

If you could describe yourself with three adjectives, what would they be?

Why are you doing what you do? What do you love most about the business you are in?

Name your top three passions. (This will lead you to the things you really care about and eventually to the stories you want to tell your customers.)

What's the best compliment you ever got from a customer?

What expressions do you use a lot with customers or clients? Favorite quotes? (The language piece that is so important to making you sound authentic.)

If you are writing your own website copy, or having someone else do it for you, give a little thought to these questions. And ask yourself other ones.

Listen to the answers.

Because the last thing you want is for your customers to think you are just like Nuz, the 'crazy cat.' 

Why Crowdsourcing Makes Sense—Sometimes.

If you have been hanging around Twitter lately, you've heard the rumble.

At this year's SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas, dubbed "The Brightest Minds in Emerging Technology," one panel session in particular got tons of attention.

It was called "Spec Work Is Evil" and it started a firestorm. The topic was crowdsourcing, which most professional graphic designers call "working on spec." Meaning delivering a creative product on speculation, without any guarantee of payment—unless the client chooses to purchase.

Now, whether this is fair to designers or not is a hot topic for another blog post. But I've become curious enough about this whole crowdsourcing thing to try to figure out what it means to you, my small business readers.

What crowdsourcing is—and isn't

Wikipedia defines crowdsourcing as "the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call." That's right, an open call. Kind of like an audition. You know, where lots of people perform and only one gets chosen. Picture the Broadway show, A Chorus Line.

Call it an audition, call it a contest. Call it whatever you like. But it is not a normal relationship with one service provider who is contracted to provide a solution to a problem. It's a bunch of unknown people, all raising their hands, each one hoping you'll select them for the job—and the paycheck. I'm not saying that's good or bad. Just what it is.

How crowdsourcing works

More and more businesses are going to crowdsourcing websites, especially when they are looking for creative services. Take graphic design, which was the subject of the heated debate at SXSW.

Design-focused crowdsourcing companies, like 99 designs and crowdSPRING, are popping up everywhere. The premise is simple: a business owner or startup needing a logo posts their project, sits back and waits for all the designs to come in, then chooses the one she likes. 99 designs has a $39 registration fee and crowdSPRING charges a 15 percent commission on the price you settle on with the designer. All good.

Okay, let's pretend you are looking for a new logo. Here's what I'm thinking:

Crowdsourcing is good

More choices.

You get at least 25 designs—often scores more—from a diverse and global pool of designers. You might get a headache just going through all of them.

Less risk.

Because you are not stuck with just one designer, you have more of a chance of finding the perfect one for your needs. There's comfort in numbers, right?

You can name your price. Well, almost.

Businesses typically pay just $200-$350 for a completed logo, sometimes less. For cash-strapped solopreneurs and startups, that's practically a gift.

You determine the length of the process.

No more designers going on vacation or putting your project on the back burner because they got busy. You choose the time frame you want to work in. 

You are in the driver's seat.

No more getting talked into a cutting edge design by an over-the-top designer who has won lots of awards but doesn't understand your plainer, more humble image and brand.

Crowdsourcing is bad

You cannot change your mind.

With most of these firms, you are committed once you post your project, unless you do not get enough design submissions (in most cases at least 25). You must choose and pay for one.

You must know something about good design.

You need to know enough to say clearly what it is you need—and what you don't want. The more specific direction you give to the "creatives," the more their submissions will match your interests. 

It takes more of your time.

Unless you provide specific and detailed feedback, you'll be in an infinite loop of mediocrity. While the single designer you contract with is skilled at pulling the right feedback out of you, the responsibility rests with you in crowdsourcing.

Any disputes will slow you down.

Most websites have a dispute resolution policy if for some reason you are unhappy or feel you were treated unfairly. But that process can be a time-eater. 

Your logo design process is there for all the world to see.

Your logo is designed step-by-step, in a public forum. If you don't want the world to see it yet, you may have a problem with that.

It's your choice

Many of the experts say that crowdsourcing is here to stay. Web strategist Jeremiah Owyang thinks that a new "lower tier" of design needs has emerged—people with blogs, small businesses, etc.—and that crowdsourcing and spec work will meet these new needs. But he also says that, in the end, you get what you pay for.

What about you? Have you had any experience, with purchasing services through crowdsourcing, or providing them?

How did it go for you?

 

Face Up: Is Your Photo On Your Website?

Judy and I are members of a cool business networking community called Biznik.com. Recently on one of the forums, someone asked: “Should you put your photo on your website?”

How did people weigh in? The original poster said she always looks for a photo on someone’s website and doesn’t like it when she can’t find one. She compared it to starting a book and turning to the back inside cover first to look at the author’s picture. She just needs to see the person.

Another poster felt that photos can build credibility. But she also said that someone she met who sold information products online tested with and without a photo and actually sold more without his photo. Assuming the reason wasn’t that he’s incredibly ugly, I’m curious about those results. Are there certain businesses, services, products, where it’s best to go “photo-less?”

Most biznik posters felt it was a good thing to have your photo on your website. I feel, especially for the solopreneur, it can help in your branding, particularly if you have a service-focused business. But if you are selling a product, marketing the solution to your customer’s problem that your product will provide is probably more important than your personal branding. In short, focus on what you are selling —yourself or a product.

We have chosen to put photos on our blog and websites. Why? The Internet is impersonal and there are so many sites out there offering so many services that sometimes it just helps your customers get a better feel for who you are. It makes you more human. When I visit a site, I ask myself: Does this website show me friendly, approachable, solution-focused professionals, or is it a group of strange dudes in the corner of their basement trying to sell me the world?

At MarketingYourSmallBiz.com, our faces are a key part of our personal branding. Our local clients know us as well, if not better, by our photos as they do by our business name. And hopefully you, our online customers and future customers, know us a little better, too.

The Changing Entrepreneur: What Kind of Business Are You?

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The author, Diana Ransom of smSmallBiz.com, reported on the new trend of specialized labeling for entrepreneurs.

While “solopreneur” has become widely accepted as a term for someone who owns a one-person-shop, the number of ways to distinguish the small business owner may be getting a little out of control. With everything from “ecopreneur” to “mompreneur”, there seems to be a label for everyone.

Some marketers like this new trend because it helps the business owner stand out in a competitive marketplace. The label can describe you as the businessperson, your niche market or both.

Here are some of the current buzzwords:

Solopreneur: a one-person business.
Copreneurs: owners of a two-person business, often a husband and wife.
Sideline Entrepreneur: a moonlighter who is testing the waters with a side business.
Travelpreneur/Adventurepreneur: the adventure-seeking entrepreneur.
Socialpreneur: the owner of a nonprofit company looking to solve a social problem
Ecopreneurs/Greenpreneurs: entrepreneurs who have turned their “green” causes into profits
Mompreneur/Dadpreneur: a parent with young children and a home-based business
Teenpreneur: a college or teen-aged entrepreneur
Entrepreness/Fempreneur: a female entrepreneur who caters to the women’s market
Serial Entrepreneur: a start-up “addict” who goes from one business to another

So, a woman who is a one-person business, who has a child and works at home, and who creates environmentally-friendly products is a solo-mom-eco-social-preneur?

Do you fit anywhere on this list? Do you like being labeled?

Will A Special Color Sell Your Product?

Recently Pantone, the color standards mega-company, announced its Fall ’08 Color Forecast, presumably the Bible for graphic designers, interior decorators and all the other artist types whose creations will suffer unless they know and use the trendy “it” colors. According to Pantone, Fall ’08 is defined by “rich, elegant hues that offer vibrant selections. ” (”Rich and elegant?” What were last fall’s colors—washed out and tacky?). Blue Iris is one of the “in” colors this year, described as "combining the stable and calming aspects of blue and the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple". Boy, that’s expecting a lot from a color.

Pantone has much to gain from their “color forecasts.” In fact, though the predictions are available to the public a few months in advance of the season, the designers, decorators and marketing companies must pony up $750 per book if they want it earlier. (The Fall ’09 book is on sale now.) It is in Pantone’s best interest to create a color trend frenzy.

Every year, the trendy colors show up in fashion, home décor, retail products and sales and marketing pieces. Large corporations spend thousands of dollars redesigning their logos and reception areas and hiring the best agencies to tell them what those colors will do for them, how they will make their customers feel, what emotions they will evoke.

Will using the newest, most popular colors bring more customers in the door? I honestly doubt it. We small businesses are very aware that our USP—Unique Selling Proposition—our sales messages, our personal brand are the way we attract new customers and retain the ones we have.

15 years ago, when we created the logo for Cat’s Eye Group, our small biz marketing company, we chose the color teal. I think sometime in the 90's it was "in," but just as quickly it became passé, yesterday’s color. Yet strangely enough, we still get comments on how much people like our logo and how immediately recognizable it is. They never seem to say, "Oh, ick. Teal. Come on Bob, get with the times!"

Do you personally feel that colors evoke emotions? And does that affect your decision when you are creating your marketing materials?