Say it Ain’t So, Bob Bly

By on January 20, 2007 in Books with 4 Comments

1973Williemays2_2 There are two pictures I have in my head when I think of Willie Mays, but the image that lingers is the one where he’s begging at the plate in the 1973 World Series.

I love the body of work Willie Mays put together, But he played one year too long.

There are two books I have in my head when I think of Bob Bly, and I hope the work that lingers in my mind is The Copywriter’s Handbook – and not his most recent work.

In Blog Schmog, Bob Bly makes an attempt to discredit blogging and those advocating its use as a business tool. While he makes some good points, it doesn’t deliver the promised "guide through the fog of evangelistic enthusiasm to even-handedly examine the possibilities and pitfalls of blogging as a marketing tool."

What it does deliver is a shower of evangelistic enthusiasm for direct marketing, spam and other interruption marketing techniques.  He’s correct that it’s difficult to immediately measure the ROI of blogging. But what’s the ROI for a smile and greeting when someone walks into your store?

Look, direct marketing still has a purpose. When done right, even a 92% failure rate can be counted on as a success. I love the body of work Bob Bly has put together, but we wrote one book too many.

Iowa/IABC is hosting Mr. Bly for a full-day event on March 7 – and word has it he’ll talk about copywriting :-) Thankfully, I have a speaking engagement elsewhere.

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  • http://bloggingforbusinessbook.com Ted Demopoulos

    I read a bunch of his book recently in a bookstore. Supposedly (he says) I should hate it. I agree with most of what I read!
    Now this may be due to the sections I actually read , but is there actually anything new in this book from Captain Bly??

  • Mitch Matthews

    Nice post… and great picture Mike!
    Yes… it’s always best to go out while you’re on the top verses peeder out over time.
    Plus… I couldn’t agree more. It’s difficult to measure ROI on many (if not most) marketing and public relations efforts. But, what I’m finding… over time… is that the relationship that our blog helps to build may not always translate in to immediate purchases/busines… but it helps to create a priceless connection with our peeps.
    More importantly… it helps to take “customers” and make them “family.”
    I like that thought…
    Keep it up Mike… This is good stuff buddy!

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    >Ted, he does make some good points…and there is one chapter where I nodded in agreement often. There really isn’t much new, but if one were looking for reasons why companies shouldn’t blog – Bob gives plenty of opinions in this book.
    >”A priceless connection with our peeps” – Nice line Mitch! That’s a keeper.

  • http://www.maryschmidt.com Mary Schmidt

    Of course, it’s good to hear all sides of the issue. And, I’ve not read the book, just excerpts and reviews on other blogs. I plan on checking it out at the library and see if he really is past his prime. I also visited Bob’s blog (?!) – where I left a comment to the effect that if you have to work this hard to get past your “subscribers” email spam filters, maybe there’s something wrong with your message.
    (He also had spam in comments on at least one post, which further demonstrates he doesn’t grok blogging.)

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